


Fighting Nature

by orphan_account



Category: Being Human (UK), The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-26 05:57:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 31,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6226600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So much for his image as a strong and self-sufficient beta, Anders thought bitterly. Tomorrow night, he would forever be Colin Gundersen’s omega bitch. Unless...</p><p>Ullr’s powers were still relatively weak, and that meant that Mike couldn’t find him if he ran to the other side of the world.</p><p>With that in mind, he booked a plane ticket to London. Heathrow was a busy place, and he could easily hop on a train or a bus from there to take him somewhere else in Britain. Mike wouldn’t be able to hunt him down using conventional methods either.</p><p>The thought that his brother might die because of his actions gave him a slight pause. Of course, then he remembered that this was the same brother that was fine with him being raped by the psychotic vessel of Loki and being a slave to him for the rest of his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Couple of notes in case it isn't clear from the story. Vampires in this story actually need human blood to survive (as opposed to just craving it like a drug). More will be explained about how the vampire community is structured later on.
> 
> Also, on the gods' side of things, Odin doesn't have to find Frigg. Nothing bad will happen if he doesn't, but the gods want their full powers, which they will get if Odin and Frigg bond.

Mitchell sighed as he closed the fridge and brought the handy tube connected to the chilled bag to his mouth. Type A blood, breakfast of champions, he thought sardonically.

“You know,” Annie’s voice startled him. His head snapped to the right to see her leaning against, or well, _hovering near_ , at least, the counter. “From the way George described the vampires he’s met,” she continued, wrinkling her nose as Mitchell continued to suck the blood up through the tube, “I never would have thought they would be self-sacrificing enough to rely on bagged blood.”

He snorted as he finished off the bag, frowning as he tossed it in the trash. There never seemed to be enough in one bag, but then again, he was only given three 100mL bags for each day. He was forced to ration accordingly.

“Most of them don’t,” Mitchell replied with a shrug. “But they’re all either betas or omegas. They can control themselves.”

The obvious implication to that, of course, was that Mitchell, as an alpha, could not. 

“Wait, so they just go around drinking from people?” Annie asked incredulously. “How do they keep secret then?”

“They have a few discreet live donors,” he answered. “But new vampires are encouraged to bond with a human partner as soon as they can. The bond keeps their mate alive and young for as long as they are, and they have a food source for the rest of their lives.”

She made a face. “How romantic.”

He chuckled. “It’s not as heartless as it sounds in most cases,” Mitchell assured her. “Most vampires don’t want to bond just for food, which is why there are so many single vampires relying on volunteer donors. The Council just doesn’t allow me to do that.”

“Because they’re afraid you’ll kill someone?”

Mitchell looked away but nodded. He wasn’t yet ready to confess that he _had_ killed people that way. It wasn’t something he was proud of, and he wanted so much that he could go back and change things, but he couldn’t.

Sometimes, he almost wished the Council _had_ passed judgment on him like they had Herrick. At least then he wouldn’t have to live with the guilt.

“Why don’t we just find you a mate then?” she asked brightly, obviously thrilled at the idea of trying to find Mitchell a match.

He shook his head. “Bad idea. There’s no guarantee I’d be able to control myself with them either.” Not to mention he was not going to saddle some poor beta, or worse _omega_ , with a killer like him.

Annie looked far from satisfied with that answer. “But maybe—”

“I’ve got to go to work, Annie. Let’s just drop it, okay?” She nodded unhappily, and he gave her an appreciative smile. “Thanks. See you later.”

He tried not to think about the idea of bonding during his shift at the hospital, but it stuck in his mind. It wasn’t something he could have. Hell, the last time two times he had tried to have sex, he had killed his partner because of his bloodlust. How the fuck was he supposed to bond with someone? The bond was created by sex! Maybe if he had the bond _during_ sex, he’d be able to hold back, but without it he’d just end up draining whoever to was he was trying to bond with.

The counter to that, of course, was that he had always attempted sex with betas, not omegas. He was an alpha. There was an innate instinct inside alphas that made them want to protect omegas. Mitchell knew from the omegas he had been exposed to that that instinct had not been dimmed by becoming a vampire. As with all of his instincts, it had been _magnified_.

That only made the idea of fucking up and killing a potential omega partner even more agonizing though.

 

#

 

Dr. Lichtenstein gave him a stern look over the rims of his glasses. “I can’t give them to you again,” he stated firmly.

Anders rolled his eyes. It wasn’t the first time the doctor had told him that, and it would hardly be the last. Still, the old doc was easier to sway once he had gotten his little spiel out of the way so the blond put on a pleasant smile and asked, “Why?”

“Mr. Johnson, you are thirty years old,” the doctors told him.

“Yes, I am aware of my age,” Anders couldn’t help but point out sarcastically. Lichtenstein gave him an unimpressed look that never worked for Mike and certainly wouldn’t work for the doctor.

“You have been on suppressants for nine years,” he continued. “Not only is it highly unethical for me to give them to you for long term use, not to mention _illegal_ , they have likely already caused irreversible damage to your reproductive system!”

“Doc, I’m not planning on ever popping out any kids anyway,” Anders said casually, brushing away his concern.

Dr. Lichtenstein scowled. “These pills can hurt more than your ability to have children, Mr. Johnson. They could _kill_ you. They are literally _toxic_ to your body and the fact that you’re on the maximum recommended dose is extremely troubling.”

No, Anders thought darkly, the idea of an alpha jumping him and forcing a bond on him was deeply troubling. That had nearly happened when he had first presented and he _never_ wanted it to happen again.

“Is that all?” he asked, with a raised brow.

The doctor narrowed his eyes but nodded.

**_“Okay,”_ ** Anders said, summoning Bragi’s powers. **_“Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to give me the pills, and after I leave, you’ll tell no one about this appointment. Understand?”_**

The doctor nodded again before standing without a word and leaving the exam room for a moment. When he returned, he was carrying a white paper bag that Anders knew had about a year’s supply of suppressants inside. 

Anders smirked and hopped off the exam table, grabbing the bag from the doctor. “Great doing business with you, Doc. I’ll see you next year.”

He strode out of the small clinic confidently, secure in the knowledge that he wouldn’t stink of omega for another year and would be blessedly heat-free for that time as well. He had worked hard to cultivate his image as a playboy beta. He wasn’t going to let the fact that he was a fucking omega ruin that.

He tossed his keys and the bag on the table by the door as soon as he got home before walking further into his condo. The sight of his brothers and grandfather waiting for him in his living room, though, threw him.

Anders forced himself not to freeze. He would not give them the satisfaction of knowing they had caught him off guard.

“Someone called a family meeting and forgot to invite me,” he quipped instead. “Rather stupid move to hold it in my own living room if you didn’t want me here.”

“Cut the shit, Anders,” Mike told him in exasperation. “We’re here cause we need you to do something.”

“That’s usually the only reason I see any of you,” he remarked, crossing his arms in front of him. It was a reflexive posture for him. One he always defaulted to when he felt threatened. “What do you want this time?”

“Eva isn’t Frigg,” Axl said sheepishly. Anders tilted his head to look at his giant little brother, trying to convey his impatience. The sooner they actually told him what they wanted, the sooner they’d leave.

“Colin tricked us,” Ty elaborated.

“Shocking,” Anders interjected dryly. This whole “quest for Frigg” thing had gotten old to him about two weeks after Axl had became Odin. Personally, given the way his family had typically treated him in the past, he wasn’t sure he _wanted_ them to have their full godly powers.

Ty glared at him. “Anyway, Eva is actually Hel, but Colin made Mike sign a bonding contract after leading us to believe she was Frigg. The contract essentially says that if a Johnson doesn’t bond with a Gundersen, then Mike dies.”

“If you’re asking me to bond with Eva, no can do, little bro,” Anders replied cheerfully, for once grateful he was an omega. “But you’re all betas. It’d be easy enough for one of you to bond with her and then break it off in a few years. Beta bonds aren’t as permanent.”

“Eva isn’t who you’ll be bonding with,” Mike stated meaningfully.

Anders stared at him blankly for a moment before the words sunk in. “No,” he breathed out, shaking his head slowly. “No,” he repeated more firmly. “I won’t do that. I _won’t_.”

“Well, fortunately, you don’t really have to do anything for a bond to happen,” Mike pointed out.

He inhaled sharply. “You’d give Gundersen permission to fucking rape your own brother?” he asked in disbelief. He noticed that Olaf and his other brothers, at least, looked uncomfortable at the question.

Mike rolled his eyes though. “Come on, Anders, we all know sex is hardly sacred for you. If we’re going to talk about rape, how many people have you used your power on to have sex with you? Besides, do you really want my death to be on you?”

Anders wanted to argue that he _never_ talked people into bed with him. The only times he used his powers in the bedroom was if his partner noticed the tinge of omega hormones that he exuded sometimes in the heat of passion. Or if they got a little too rough as a result. He _never_ used it to force consent.

He couldn’t argue anything, though, because of the lump of fear that had lodged in his throat.

“Mikkel, maybe we can talk to Colin again?” Olaf suggested. “Maybe one of us could bond with Eva instead?”

“With Colin knowing Anders is an omega? Not likely,” Axl muttered, shooting Anders an apologetic look. “Mike will _die_ , Anders.”

Didn’t they realize what they were asking of him? Didn’t they realize that there was no breaking a bond for an omega? Didn’t they know the fucking _control_ an alpha had over their bonded omega? How could they ask this of him? 

And who the fuck told he was an omega to begin with? That was a secret that only his family knew. Of _course_ , Colin wanted him now. A fucktoy he had complete control over who could bend the wills of anyone who opposed his alpha? It was probably a dream come true for the psychopath.

“Please,” he whispered, breaking his rule to _never_ beg for anything. 

“Don’t be a selfish prick, Anders,” Mike said. “For once in your life, do what’s best for this family.”

“We don’t have to make a big to-do about it,” Olaf told him, trying to be comforting but failing miserably. “There doesn’t have to be a ceremony or anything. The two of you can just do your thing and be done with it.”

Anders forced back a wince. “Do your thing” must be stoner code for “let a psychopath rape you.”

“Please tell me he doesn’t know where I live?” he asked quietly.

“No,” Ty replied softly. “We didn’t tell him that. We figured he would just barge in and take you without you even agreeing if he knew where you lived.”

It was a small comfort. It wasn’t like the vessel of Loki couldn’t find him when he went to work and force him into a bond _there_.

“I’m not agreeing to this at all,” he declared, giving his family a defiant look.

They gave him varying looks of disappointment and anger, with Mike outright glaring at him.

“We’re not giving you a choice,” Mike stated. “We’ll give you tonight and tomorrow to prepare, but Colin will be here tomorrow night. So be ready.”

His older brother swept out of the condo at that, Axl immediately following him with another disappointed yet apologetic look at Anders. Ty and Olaf hung back a bit.

“Look, Anders, I know this isn’t fair,” Ty tried to say but Anders cut him off.

“Isn’t _fair_?!?” he snapped angrily, horrified at the fact that there were actual fucking _tears_ in his eyes. “Do you know how fucking hard it is to be an omega in this fucking world? No! You don’t because you had the fucking luck to be a damn beta! But let me tell you, I’ve worked hard to gain my independence and you’re fucking throwing me to the wolves!”

Olaf gave him a sorrowful but stern stare. “Anders, Mikkel will _die_.”

He shook his head and closed his eyes, trying to will back the tears before they actually fell from his eyes. He wasn’t going to fucking _cry_ in front of them. “And you’re condemning to a fate worse than death,” he muttered with a shake of his head. He turned his back to them. “Get out.”

A few moments later, he heard the door shut behind them. He collapsed at the sound, his shaking legs unable to support him as the tears began streaming down his face.

So much for his image as a strong and self-sufficient beta, he thought bitterly. Tomorrow night, he would forever be Colin Gundersen’s omega bitch.

Fuck, he couldn’t do this, but what could he do? Where he ran, Mike would find him. Unless…

Taking a deep breath, he stood a bit unsteadily and stumbled to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of vodka from the freezer and not even bothering getting a glass. He then grabbed his laptop and flopped down on the couch.

He took a swig of his bottle as he looked up potential destinations. Ullr’s powers were still relatively weak, and would stay that way unless Odin found Frigg. And that meant that Mike couldn’t find him if he ran to the other side of the world.

With that in mind, he booked a plane ticket to London. Heathrow was a busy place, and he could easily hop on a train or a bus from there to take him somewhere else in Britain. Mike wouldn’t be able to hunt him down using conventional methods either.

Satisfied, he began researching Britain, trying to figure out where best to hide. Mike and Colin would probably both be on the hunt for him as soon as they realized he was gone. He _couldn’t_ let them find him.

On the bright side, he thought morbidly, Mike might be too dead to try to find him.

The thought that his brother might die because of his actions gave him a slight pause. Of course, then he remembered that this was the same brother that was fine with him being raped by the psychotic vessel of Loki and being a slave to him for the rest of his life.

He closed his laptop at the thought, not really giving a damn what happened to Mike, and resolved to get a good night’s rest.

Considering he was uprooting his entire life and moving across the world in the morning, he figured he would probably need it.

tbc…


	2. Chapter Two

After he had booked his ticket, Anders stayed up all night packing. Well, packing really only took him until about midnight, but he didn’t sleep after that. He couldn’t. Despite Ty’s assurances that Colin didn’t know where he lived, he didn’t trust Mike as far as he could throw him.

After he finished packing, he grabbed a cricket bat and curled up on the couch and stared at the door the entire night, afraid that Colin would burst in at any moment. He wished he had a better weapon, but he never really thought he needed one. Not with Bragi’s power at his disposal.

It was just his fucking luck that _his_ power didn’t work on other gods. It really wasn’t fucking fair. Not when he was vulnerable to Mike’s Ullr or Colin’s Loki.

He called Dawn as soon as it was late enough in the morning that she’d be awake. He was taking a bit of a risk trusting her with this when he knew her and Ty were in the beginnings of a relationship, but he literally had no one else he could turn to.

Besides, he didn’t plan on trusting her completely anyway.

“Anders? What’s wrong?” she asked immediately. Considering he rarely ever came into the office before nine, he could understand why she would automatically assume something had to be wrong with him calling so early.

And she was right. Something _was_ wrong.

“I need a favor, Dawnsie,” he answered in a sing-song voice just to be annoying. Riling his beta assistant up and making her angry at him was much preferable than the sympathy Dawn, with her heart of gold, would show Anders if he were actually honest with her. “Well, two favors really. Big favors,” he added.

She groaned in frustration, and Anders could picture her flopping down onto her pillows in annoyance. “What?” Her voice was suspicious, but resigned.

Though he annoyed the hell out of her often and on purpose, Dawn always seemed willing to put up with him. Anders didn’t understand her at all.

“I’m putting some things in storage today, and I’ll need you to ship them to me when I get settled,” he told her matter-of-factly, as if his journey was a long foregone conclusion rather than a mad dash away from a forced bonding.

“Get settled where?” she asked in confusion.

“Oh,” he said suddenly, ignoring her question, “And I’ll be signing j:pr over to you. Temporarily. Maybe. Could be permanent. It all depends.”

“What?!? Anders!” she cried in shock. “What do you mean, signing j:pr over to me?!? Where are you going?”

“Dawn, I’ve just… got to leave,” he sighed. He knew he had to give her _something_ so that she didn’t give him any more grief. Or worse, call Ty and demand answers from _him_. “I’m sorry, Dawn, but I don’t really have a choice. Staying isn’t an option.”

“What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into, Anders?” she demanded, disapproval heavy in her voice.

“Let’s just say that I’ve got relationship issues and leave it at that,” Anders answered.

“Relationship issues,” Dawn snorted. “You’ve never had a relationship in your life.”

“And I don’t really want to be in one now,” he quipped, ignoring the sick feeling in his stomach at the thought of bonding with Colin of all people. “So you see why I have to go.”

“No,” she said in frustration. “Why can’t you just tell whoever it is that you’re not interested?”

“Alphas don’t like to here the word ‘no,’” he spat bitterly. He winced at his honesty, though, when she sucked in a sharp breath.

“Anders, is an alpha trying to _force_ you?” Dawn hissed. Her genuine outrage warmed his heart, but he didn’t like showing even that small bit of true emotion to anyone, even Dawn. In his experience, when people knew your true feelings, they used them against you.

“It doesn’t matter, Dawnsie,” he assured. “They won’t find me where I’m going.”

“You shouldn’t have to uproot your life!” she cried incredulously. “Surely your brothers could help you?”

He laughed derisively at that. “Who do you think is _helping_ the asshole? Do me a third favor and wait until tomorrow to tell Ty about this, okay? And… don’t judge him too harshly for everything. It really isn’t his fault. I’ll send the papers for j:pr to you by carrier and text you the details to send my things when I need them. Bye, Dawn.”

He hung up before she could respond. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to put a good word in for Ty despite his brother’s complacency in Mike’s plan to have him bond with Colin. Maybe it was because Ty had at least acknowledged how unfair it was to Anders. Maybe it was because Ty had always been the kindest to him. Not _kind_ , mind you, but kinder than his other brothers.

Or maybe it was because he knew that whatever it was between Dawn and Ty was real, and he wanted to believe that _someone_ , at least, could have a happy ending.

It was something that he had known was never in the cards for him, after all.

He had drawn the papers to transfer j:pr up last night as he was warily kept watched the door. He had them signed and on their way to Dawn before he left the condo. He then arranged for his things to be picked up later that day and placed in storage. 

He was at the airport by 10 AM, every dollar to his name stuffed in his duffle along with a few sets of clothes. There was probably a more efficient and less risky way to transfer his entire net worth to the UK, but he was too tired to figure it out, even if he had had the time.

He didn’t feel safe until his plane was in the air. It would take nearly twenty four hours to travel to London. He’d figure things out more once he got there.

His seat was uncomfortable. For this long of a flight, he would have ordinarily paid extra for first class, but he was forced to budget his money. He wasn’t sure what kind of job the future held for him. PR was out. It was way too noticeable. But he had been in PR so long, he really had no clue what else he could do, or if he even _could_ do anything else.

He silently cursed himself as he mentally went through all the extravagant purchases he had made in the past. Maybe if he had lived a bit more simply, he would have more money saved that he could bring with him. As it was, he barely had $40,000 to his name. That wasn’t even £20,000! He was sure that would run out faster than he would like.

Sighing, Anders realized there was really nothing else he could do from the air. He let his eyes slip shut in exhaustion, comforted by the fact that, even if he ended up homeless and broke, he would still be his own person.

 

#

 

Mitchell stiffened as he was mopping a mostly deserted corridor near the OR, the unmistakable scent of omega vampire hitting his nose hard.

“I really hope you didn’t get this job for the blood,” the familiar voice of Carl commented lightly. 

He relaxed and turned to face the other vampire. Carl was the entire reason there wasn’t a stake through his heart. He didn’t think the omega had come to hurt or threaten him.

“The Council keeps me so well-fed,” Mitchell replied sarcastically. “Why would I ever need more blood?”

Carl gave him an unimpressed look and stepped forward. “You know why we can’t give you too much,” he told him firmly. “If you became too strong and let your instincts take over, we might never be able to stop you. We can’t have an alpha vampire on a bender rampaging through Britain.”

His grip on the mop tightened reflexively, but he didn’t argue. There wasn’t really much to argue. As a rule, alphas weren’t recruited for a reason. It was a very strict law that the Council, comprised only of omegas, enforced brutally. 

Herrick, his beta creator, had been attempting a coup by recruiting him, planning to eventually recruit even more alphas in order to make an army. Mitchell wasn’t sure if Herrick would have been successful, but he was fairly positive that they were all better off because his plan was foiled.

It had been mercy only, at the behest of Carl, that had kept Mitchell from being executed alongside his creator.

“The Council doesn’t have to worry,” he said with a sigh, figuring he owed the omega honesty after he had saved his life. “I don’t want to hurt anyone. I’ve _never_ wanted to hurt anyone.”

Carl hummed. “But you _have_ hurt people,” he pointed out. “You’ve _killed_ people.”

Mitchell swallowed thickly and closed his eyes. “I didn’t mean to,” he whispered, leaning his forehead against the wooden mop handle. “I swear.”

“I know you didn’t,” he said gently, resting a hand on Mitchell’s shoulder in comfort. “That’s why I fought so hard to have your life spared. But that is also why we are limiting your blood intake. We can’t risk it.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that,” Mitchell promised with a wry smile. “Those two incidents happened in the heat of passion. I’ve realized that celibacy is safer.”

Carl gave him a stern look. “That’ll be easy right until you catch a whiff of an unbonded omega in heat and end up ripping the omega’s throat out.”

“I _won’t_ ,” he growled, even though he was far from sure of himself. 

The other vampire sighed. “I hope you don’t, Mitchell,” he said. “You won’t get a second chance if you do. The offer still stands, though. You may live at the compound. You’d be safer there. The only omegas around would be vampires who’d be more than capable of defending themselves.”

Because they kept him half-starved, he thought bitterly. Besides, he’d rather not be effectively held prisoner by the Council for the rest of eternity.

“The answer’s still no, Carl,” he said, straightening and giving the other vampire a forced smile. While he appreciated the omega going to bat for him, he wasn’t going to let the Council play on his sympathies to lock him away.

He was tired of having no choices in his life. From the moment Herrick recruited him, he had been a prisoner. And in some ways he still _was_ a prisoner.

But he could choose where he lived and who he associated with. He could choose whether he wanted to hurt people or not. He could choose how he wanted to spend the rest of his very long life.

And he damn well wasn’t going to choose to be locked away with some dark compound with vampires who hated and feared him for what he was.

 

#

 

His five-hour layover in Shanghai had made Anders antsy. He wasn’t sure if Colin and his brothers had figured out he had ran yet. They probably had, his paranoid brain decided as he curled into a chair in a hidden corner of his gate, staring warily at the crowds of people milling around. If he had kept his phone, he’d probably know for sure.

But he watched enough television to know that phones could be tracked and that was the first thing you got rid of when you ran away.

Fuck, but he really was the coward his family thought he was. Anders couldn’t help but frown every time he spotted an omega in the crowd. While omegas were the rarest of the secondary genders, there were still a good many of them in the general population, around 20% if Anders remembered correctly.

Why was it that _he_ was the only one who realized how fucking dangerous it was to just walk around stinking of omega? Were all the other omegas intellectually deficient or something?

The knots his insides were tied in eased slightly as his plane touched down in Heathrow. It took _forever_ for his bags at baggage claim, but he was safe in the knowledge that no one following him could have arrived in London yet.

Despite his limited research, he still had no idea where in the UK he wanted to settle for the time being. Instead of agonizing over the decision though, Anders hopped on the first train that was leaving Heathrow, not really caring where it was going as long as it was _going_.

Which is how he ended up standing in the Bristol train station, wishing once more that he hadn’t thrown away his fucking phone when he realized he had to find a hotel.

Anders scowled to himself as he stomped miserably through the train station. How the hell did people get around without phones anyway? How was he supposed to look up a hotel that was decent but not too pricey? How was he supposed to _book_ said hotel?

He found a payphone finally, in an old, seldom used corner of the station, but it worked, thankfully. He called information and asked them to connect him to the Holiday Inn, which was the first modest sounding hotel name he thought of.

Thank fuck there actually _was_ a Holiday Inn in Bristol.

He booked two nights, figuring if he needed to stay longer he’d have to shop around for hotel rates. Being on a limited budget was going to suck ass, he decided testily as he headed out of the station to catch a cab.

Why did the price of his freedom have to be his entire fucking life?

tbc…


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me if any of my characters are out of character. I don't have as great a grasp on the Being Human characters as I do on the Almighty Johnson characters!

Anders frowned at the grubby-looking house, wondering if it was even worth waiting around for the estate agent to look inside. He couldn’t afford to be picky, he knew, not with a dwindling supply of cash and no job prospects. He was lucky to have found a place cheap enough for him to be able to live on his own if he were to find a semi-decent job.

Besides, at least it wasn’t a complete eyesore like the pink house next door.

He had to admit, though, that the curly-headed brunette sitting on the stoop not even pretending to not be watching him was pretty cute, though there was something… odd… that bothered him about her.

He stepped closer to the other house and tossed her what he knew was a charming smile and shrugged. “Damn estate agent is late,” he said to start the conversation.

She started and looked around quickly, as if unable he was speaking to her. She stared at him with wide-eyes as she turned back to face him. “You can see me?” she asked with barely constrained excitement.

Anders frowned. This conversation wasn’t going anything like what he had thought it would. “Um, am I not supposed to see you?”

She laughed joyously and stood up, approaching Anders with a wide grin. It wasn’t until she got closer that Anders realized what had been bothering him about her.

She had no scent.

“What are you?” she asked curiously, stepping uncomfortably close and causing Anders to take a step back. She looked sheepish at that. “Sorry. Just got a bit excited. I’m Annie, by the way. I’m a ghost, in case you couldn’t tell.”

The whole encounter was becoming beyond weird to Anders. “Ghosts don’t exist,” he stated, trying and utterly failing to sound certain. After all, there was a woman in front of him who had no scent and was surprised he could see her. He glanced down and was startled to find she had no shadow either.

Annie rolled her eyes. “I exist same as you,” she told him. “But what _are_ you? Vampire? Werewolf?”

He groaned. “Please don’t tell me vampires and werewolves exist too. Did I just accidentally step into some weird British version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?”

“You must be new to the supernatural world,” she said with a laugh. “It’s alright. My flatmate George and I are fairly new to it too. Our other flatmate, Mitchell, he tries to explain things to us when he can, but sometimes I don’t think he knows as much as thinks he does,” she added conspiratorially.

“A ghost with supernatural flatmates,” Anders said with an incredulous shake of his head. “Can’t afford the cost of haunting on your own?”

“Well, they moved into _my_ house, thank you very much,” she replied airily. She then gave him a sly smile. “Best thing about being a ghost is not having to pay rent.”

He couldn’t hold back a snort at that. “So what are your flatmates then? I assume they aren’t ghosts.”

Annie frowned at that. “I’m not sure I should tell you,” she answered. “It’s not really my place, and it’s not like you’ve told me what _you_ are.”

That was probably fair, Anders had to admit, though he damn sure wasn’t going to do so out loud. Still, he couldn’t tell her about Bragi. It had been hammered into him time and time again by Mike that they were supposed to be an absolute secret. No one was supposed to know.

Then again, Mike was the reason his entire life was destroyed, so fuck his rules.

“I’m the vessel of the Norse god Bragi,” he stated with a smirk. The act of rebellion felt impossibly good.

Annie tilted her head and furrowed her brow. “You don’t sound Scandinavian,” she said at last.

“That’s because I’m from New Zealand,” he explained.

She narrowed her eyes. “If you’re lying, it’s a very odd lie,” she stated. “So I’m inclined to believe you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Thanks so much, Casper.”

She looked indignant at the name but whatever she was about to say was cut off by a voice calling out to Anders.

“Mr. Johnson!” a man in a suit and tie huffed as he came up to them in a rush. “I’m so sorry I’m late. Do you still want to look at the house?”

Anders eyes darted to Annie momentarily. He was nowhere near sure about renting a house next to a haunted house with supernatural occupants. Still, considering this was the only promising place had found, he couldn’t really afford to turn his nose up at it because of his potential neighbors.

“Sure.”

 

#

 

“Our soon-to-be neighbor can see me!” Annie exclaimed as soon as Mitchell and George walked through the door.

Mitchell was instantly on alert at that. Had the Council sent someone to keep an eye on him?

“You didn’t scare him away, did you?” George teased on his way to the kitchen. Annie scowled and stomped after him, leaving Mitchell to follow in a more calm manner.

“I did _not_ scare him away!” she protested, crossing her arms in front of her sullenly. “I may have been a _little_ too excited when he talked to me, but he still looked at the house!”

“What is he?” Mitchell asked warily as he grabbed the bread, handing it to George as the werewolf pulled out some lunch meat.

She perked up again and leaned forward eagerly. “He says he’s the vessel of a Norse god,” she informed. “Bragi. I looked him up and apparently he’s the god of poetry. He’s very attractive,” she added with a meaningful look at Mitchell.

“Good for him,” he quipped, taking the sandwich that George handed him with a nod. “Ta.”

“Mitchell!” she whined.

“Leave it, Annie,” George told her. Mitchell shot him a grateful look. George, at least, understood his unwillingness to risk any romantic entanglements. Then again, he had long since confessed his unfortunate accidents to the werewolf.

“Fine,” she said petulantly.

Mitchell ignored her as he bit into his sandwich. Strictly speaking, he didn’t have to eat. However, not only was it something he found enjoyable, it also helped stave off his blood-thirst. With his restricted diet, he found that eating actual food was very necessary.

“Did you tell him what we were?” he asked after he had finished his sandwich.

“I didn’t think it was my place to say,” she said with a shake of her head.

Mitchell frowned. “You should have told him about me, at least. It’s only fair that he’s warned before he moves in next door to an alpha vampire.”

“You aren’t a danger to him,” George interjected, giving him a stern look. “There’s nothing to warn him about.”

“He might disagree.”

“Then he deserves to be scared if he’s going to be the type to judge people without even knowing them,” Annie said firmly.

Mitchell gave up at that, not willing to fight both of them on the subject.

Besides, it might not even matter. The supposed god of poetry might not even rent the house.

Of course, he never did have any kind of luck.

 

#

 

Anders sighed as he stood in his new rental. He had given himself a week to look for something better, the estate agent happily agreeing to hold the property with a little nudge from Bragi. Not that Anders really thought anyone else was _interested_ in the house. Not with the numerous water stained spots on the ceiling that clearly indicated the presence of multiple leaks.

Still, he hadn’t been able to find any viable alternatives so… home sweet home, he guessed.

As soon as he had the keys, he went out and bought the cheapest things he could find to furnish it with, even resorting to buying _used_ appliances and furniture. He did spring for a new mattress, though, because ew. The result was a mishmash house that broke college students would probably turn their noses up at.

It was a far cry from his lavishly furnished condo, but it was what he had. Besides, some of it would be replaced when Dawn shipped his things to him, but that could take a while.

Right now, though, he had to do was find a job.

He was just scouring the newspaper for want ads when there was a knock on his kitchen door. He looked up with a frown, wondering who would come to the back door instead of the one facing the street and barely resisted rolling his eyes when he saw Annie waving at him excitedly through glass of the door, a taller, nerdy-looking guy with glasses slouched behind her giving him a sheepish smile.

Great. He had almost forgotten about his spooky neighbors.

“Bragi, god of poetry!” Annie greeted cheerfully as he opened the door. “This is one of my flatmates, George. Mitchell is being Mr. Grumpy today and stayed home.”

George nodded at Anders, and he was relieved to smell the distinct scent of beta on the other man.

“My actual name is Anders,” he said, already sort of regretting his moment of rebellion in telling Annie about being a god. “Did you want something?”

“We came to welcome you to the neighborhood!” she exclaimed as if it were obvious. She peered over his shoulder curiously to see inside his house. “Aren’t you going to invite us in?”

Anders sighed but stepped aside to let them in. “Sorry I can’t offer you anything to eat or drink,” he told them. “Haven’t really stocked up yet.”

The truth was that he had a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter that he was trying to make last until he got a job that he could live with. Given how most of the want ads he had seen so far had been for mostly manual labor type jobs, he was beginning to think it would be a while before he found something suitable.

“That’s alright,” Annie replied with a smile. “I can’t really eat or drink anything anyway.”

“Right,” he said sardonically. “Ghost.” Even though he knew it was true, he still didn’t fully believe it. “So what does that make you?” he asked George. Given the other man’s hunched posture and his quiet demeanor, Anders was guessing that the man wasn’t anything very threatening.

George shot Annie a look before answered his question with a casual shrug. “Werewolf.”

Anders eyes widened, and he made a mental note to keep track of the lunar phase from now on. He’d rather not step out into his backyard and be mauled by a werewolf because he forgot it was a full moon.

Not that he actually _believed_ any of this. Sure, he was pretty sure that Annie _was_ a ghost, but werewolves? Since when was he a character in a bad horror film?

“Job hunting?” Annie asked as she spotted the newspaper on the table, clearly open to the want ads. “I think most people post openings on the internet these days.”

“Well I haven’t quite gotten the place connected to everything yet,” he replied testily. Never mind the supernatural aspect of his new neighbors. Their bloody nosiness was going to drive him crazy.

“What brings you to Bristol if you haven’t got a job lined up?” she asked.

“Annie, maybe Anders doesn’t want to go into his entire life story with us just yet,” George told her before Anders could even begin to answer. He gave the blond an apologetic smile. “She doesn’t get to interact with too many new people.”

The ghost scowled at him. “I’m just being _friendly_ ,” she said defensively. “That’s what neighbors _do_.”

Anders suddenly felt bad for her. She was clearly a very sweet and outgoing person before she died. Not being able to speak to anyone new probably was very difficult for her. Still, that didn’t mean he necessarily wanted her prying into _his_ life.

“Just as long as you don’t start floating through my walls in the name of being neighborly,” he teased with a smirk.

Annie turned her scowl on him. “I wouldn’t do that,” she groused before suddenly grinning. “George, weren’t you saying that the hospital needed a new receptionist? Anders could apply there!”

Anders didn’t bother to hide his distaste at the idea. “Not exactly a fan of the whole sick and bleeding people thing.”

George, though, looked thoughtful. “The noticeably sick and bleeding people usually go through the A&E entrance. You’d mostly be telling people where to go and taking calls. I could get you an application, if you’d like?”

He didn’t like the idea, but he supposed it wouldn’t be _too_ horrible. He could answer phones and shepherd families of sick people. And being in a hospital, it’d probably be easier to get his hands on his suppressants. 

“That’s alright,” he told him. “I’ll just go down and fill it out there.”

Annie beamed at him before giving George a smug look. “See, being friendly may have just helped him find a job. And you didn’t think he’d appreciate us coming over.”

“He _just_ moved in,” George said. “Excuse me for wanting to give him time to settle.” He then looked at Anders and bit his lip. “Er, I did want to tell you something else, though. It’s about our other flatmate. Mitchell.”

His tone of voice immediately put Anders on edge. “What about him?”

The werewolf pursed his lips. “ _I_ don’t think it’s important,” he began in a righteous tone of voice that told Anders that a lot of people would probably disagree with him. “Mitchell would never willingly hurt anyone and does everything he possibly can to keep others safe. But he wanted me to warn you that he’s an alpha vampire and I have.”

Anders blood ran cold at that. Alphas and vampires were bad enough separately, but an _alpha_ _vampire_? That sounded like a new kind of hell to him.

“Does being an alpha make a vampire _worse_ then?” he asked, trying to keep a flippant tone to his voice.

“If you ask me, it’s made Mitchell _better_ ,” Annie stated. “He doesn’t act like a stuck-up prick like a lot of alphas.”

The bitterness in her tone told Anders that there was definitely a story there, but, after he had pretty much shut down her questions about his own life, he didn’t think it was fair of him to question hers.

“Right, well, as long as he doesn’t go all alpha-male on me or try to bite me, I won’t hold what he is against him,” Anders assured them, though on the inside he was screaming at himself to run away _right now_.

He had already sunk a good bit of his money into the house, though, and he had a lead on decent job here. He couldn’t run now. Besides, running away from every potential threat he came across wasn’t a sustainable solution.

As long as he could blend in as a beta and stay under the radar, he was fine.

Though to be safe, he resolved to stay as far away from this Mitchell character as he could.

tbc…


	4. Chapter Four

Getting a job at the hospital was a piece of cake for Anders. That was mostly because he wasn’t above using Bragi on the the HR manager. It wasn’t the receptionist job that George had mentioned, though.

That job was worst than Anders had expected, something he didn’t really think was possible. The hospital kept four receptionists to man the main information desk. They worked 12-hour, staggered shifts that ensured that there was always two receptionists from 8 to 5 but only one at all other times. 

When Anders had heard that he would be expected to work 12 hours at a time, he knew that the job wasn’t for him. 12 hours of sitting and answering phones? That was a hard pass, Anders had quickly decided.

However, when he had mentioned his degree in marketing, the HR manager began bragging about their amazing, but small, marketing department. After that, it only took a few words from Anders to convince her to introduce him to the marketing director, which led to a few more words that convinced him that their department _really_ needed just _one_ more marketing manager.

He really was quite proud of himself, especially because he _knew_ the man had been impressed by his CV without Bragi’s influence and that it didn’t take much of a push from Bragi to get him the job.

Anders hadn’t really considered getting a marketing job. He had gotten his degree with the goal of starting his own PR firm. Sure, he went into PR because the idea of spinning words to create the impression he wanted, which was fundamental in marketing as well. But he had wanted to be his own boss and not be some cog in some generic marketing machine.

Being his own boss meant _freedom._

He couldn’t help thinking about his PR business with a pang of regret. His entire career, his company that he had built from the ground up, his _life_ , all gone, left behind in New Zealand with his awful family.

There was no way he could build his own PR business in Bristol, not without strong-arming clients using Bragi. Regardless of what Mike believed, he didn’t actually enjoy using his powers to get ahead in his career. He wanted to be proud of his career. Using Bragi was pointless in that aspect. 

Besides, he was still too paranoid to do something as ostentatious as starting his own business when he was hiding from Colin and his brothers.

This marketing job, at least, was a way to keep his skills sharp, and it gave him a job that he could still potentially enjoy. Even if it did come with a strict 9 to 5 schedule and someone he had to answer to.

He walked out of the hospital with a spring in his step. He may have been living in a hovel and relying on public transportation to get around, but he had a decent job now. That was something that he could work with.

The public transportation thing, though, was going to grow old quick, he decided as he leaned against a lamppost next to the bus stop. He missed the convenience of a car. It wasn’t something he had ever really given much thought, but it was a piece of independence that he didn’t know he was giving up.

He gave a thought to his new bank account. He had a little over £14,000 left. While he still didn’t have a great grasp on the whole value of a pound thing, he was sure he could get a decent used car for about half of that. With this new job, he was pretty sure he could take that kind of hit. They were starting him off at £33,000 a year. He knew fuck-off about how taxes worked in this country, but his rent was only £650 a month. Surely he’d have plenty to live off of?

His decision was made for him when he felt a drop of water hit his face. He was not going to be at the mercy of a fucking bus schedule when it rained at the drop of a fucking hat in this fucking country.

It didn’t even have the decency to rain properly, he thought with a scowl as he ducked under the sheltered bus stop, ignoring the slight dizziness in his head caused by his sudden movement. It was doing that stupid misting shit where everything got soaked but it didn’t help to step under something because the rain came in from all directions.

The bus finally came, and he took it straight home, not bothering to stop at the market like he had planned. He stomped down the street, completely ignoring everyone and everything around him. 

Which is how he missed the the tall brunet that stopped dead in his tracks on the sidewalk as he watched Anders breeze past him and into his house.

Anders was thankful that he had at least gotten his house connected to the internet before he had made his trip to the hospital. Researching a car to buy would have been much harder without it.

He spent most of his night browsing his options, stopping only briefly to order a pizza because fuck it, he had a job now. He had planned to check out the nightlife of Bristol since it was Friday, but this was more important, he decided. He could get laid another night.

 

#

 

Mitchell could do little more than stare as the short blond brushed by him, not even bothering to acknowledge the vampire as their shoulders bumped. He would have shrugged it off and continued on his way, though, if it hadn’t been for his scent.

It was a strange scent. His first impression was beta, but it was off _just_ enough to let the lingering hint of omega drift through Mitchell’s enhanced sense of smell.

It was something that he had smelled before, of course, back when the suppressants were first developed for omegas in the 60s. When the omegas taking them, though, began to develop health problems, and in some cases _dying_ , their use had been strictly limited to emergency-only situations.

He really couldn’t help wondering what kind of emergency would cause this omega to take the risk?

It was with a sinking feeling that he watched the omega dart into the house recently occupied by Annie and George’s new friend. From their description of their neighbor, Mitchell was sure that this omega was Anders, the supposed god of poetry.

Mitchell felt a surge of protectiveness towards the blond which he quickly tamped down on. It had taken him a while to overcome his alpha instinct to shelter omegas. It was an instinct that left most omegas subjected to it scowling and lecturing the offending alpha that they neither needed nor wanted his protection.

Mitchell had been subject to that lecture a couple of times in the 90s and early 2000s, on the few occasions where Herrick let him wander without dogging his heels. It was a struggle throwing off the instinct, especially when it was fully embraced during his human days, but the fact that he _could_ when the situation called for it gave Mitchell hope that maybe his more destructive instincts could be overcome as well.

Still, he couldn’t help hoping that whatever emergency that made Anders take the suppressants was life-threatening, for Annie’s sake at least. She would be devastated if she lost her new friend so quickly.

 

#

 

Anders grinned to himself as he slid into his new Rav4 SUV. It was five years old, had a good many miles on it already, and was a bright yellow that was a positive eyesore, but it cost less than what he thought he was going to have to spend and it would give him a slight semblance of normalcy back.

Getting the deal had been easy with Bragi. Anders had merely told the dealer to tell him the absolute rock-bottom price he would sell it for and voila. No unnecessary haggling and bartering to prolong the entire affair.

It still took far longer than he would have liked. It was nearly 1 o’clock by the time he was done, and he was _starving_.

Knowing he still had to the market for groceries and how tremendously bad of an idea grocery shopping while hungry was, he stopped in the Chinese place near a Tesco Extra. Of course, after he had eaten and began perusing the grocery aisles for food, he found that absolutely nothing appealed to him.

He made himself buy things he knew he would want to eat later. In his overcompensation, he probably put more in his cart than was strictly necessary. Still, he liked to keep a well-stocked fridge and pantry. It made him feel secure knowing that food was always in reach. If he thought to hard about that, it’d probably bring up bad memories of his parents using starvation as a punishment as a kid. Mike, for all his asshole ways, at least never made any of them go a day or two without food. Though considering how shit of a cook Mike was, there were meals that Anders certainly hadn’t _wanted_ to eat.

He was grateful for the SUV as he paid for the cart full of food and rolled it out the doors. If he had had to take a bus to go shopping, he wouldn’t have been able to buy nearly as much. That would have been extremely annoying.

When it was all said and done, he was back to his house a little after 3:30, thankfully finding a parking space right in front so he didn’t have to trek too far with his bags. He had already made one trip and was in the process of grabbing as many bags as he possibly could for his second, already foreseeing a third and maybe even a forth, when a voice startled him from behind.

“Need a hand?”

He dropped the bags in his hands, grateful later that he hadn’t actually lifted them from the trunk yet, and whirled around, bracing himself for an attack. He scolded himself fiercely, though, when he saw it was just George.

Despite what he and Annie claimed about him being a werewolf, Anders was fairly certain George was probably the most harmless person he had ever met. He almost relaxed, before he caught sight of the tall man frowning a few steps behind George, and instantly was intense again.

The man’s alpha pheromones hit him first, and Anders had to fight not to take a step back. This had to be Mitchell, Annie and George’s alpha vampire flatmate. While he hadn’t wrapped his mind around the whole vampire thing, the alpha part was enough to make Anders want to run away then and there. It didn’t help that the supposed vampire was all but glowering at him.

George was looking at him in confused concern and stepped forward. Anders shook his head quickly and turned his back to them even though his mind screaming was at him. “I’m fine,” he told him, turning with his hands full of groceries. “No need to trouble yourself.”

“It’s no trouble,” George assured him, glancing back at his flatmate.

The brunet stepped forward as well and plastered a bright smile on his face. Anders blinked at the instant transformation from homicidal-alpha-vampire to giant-grinning-puppy. His treacherous mind couldn’t help noting that both looks were attractive as hell.

“No trouble at all,” he agreed. “I’m Mitchell by the way.”

That voice did stupid things to his insides, and the pheromones exuding from the vampire made the primal part of him want to press his body closer to him. It didn’t help that Mitchell was drop dead sexy without any assistance from ingrained biological instincts.

Anders decided that he hated him then and there.

He let his eyes flick down to ID badge the brunet still had pinned on his scrubs. “You’re badge says your first name is John,” he pointed out just to be contrary.

“My friends call me Mitchell,” he explained, still smiling. Anders knew exactly how to wipe that stupid grin off his face though.

He smirked. “Yeah,” he drawled with a shrug, brushing past them both with his bags. “I think I’ll call you John.”

He dared a glance back to see the frown was back on Mitchell’s face, causing the frightening fierceness to come back. George looked almost adorably confused by Anders’ words, but he didn’t let that worry him. If the alleged werewolf now thought he was a jerk, maybe he wouldn’t have to deal with his supernatural neighbors anymore.

He dumped his bags in the kitchen before heading out the door once more, only to nearly collide with George and Mitchell as they carried the rest of his bags to his house.

Anders scowled. “I said I didn’t need your help.”

George gave him a gentle, understanding smile that made Anders couldn’t decipher but still wanted to strangle him for it all the same. “Annie would kill us if we didn’t, mate,” he said by way of explanation.

“Besides,” Mitchell told him as he edged past Anders and into the house to drop off his load, “just because you don’t need it, doesn’t mean you can’t have it.”

He wanted to shoot a sharp barb at the alpha for that, but it took everything he had not to shudder in _want_.

There definitely was _something_ he needed, but he was definitely not going to get it from an _alpha_.

“Thanks,” he bit out as he followed the two into the house. “You can leave now.”

Surprisingly, the two had absolutely no reaction to his blatantly rude behavior. They just smiled and nodded before exiting out the way they had come, making Anders want to _scream_ in frustration.

There was no way they were this nice. Were they after something from him? His eyes narrowed. He was really regretting letting them know he was the vessel of Bragi now. Maybe they had made the leap to the fact that he could bend mortals to his will?

Anders growled in frustration. He’d get no answers right now, he decided as he began putting his groceries away. He hesitated a moment before he stowed the vodka in his freezer.

He wasn’t going to drink alone in his house tonight. He was going to go out.

Considering how horny he was all of a sudden, it took barely a thought to make the decision.

And if he happened to pick up a tall beta with dark curls and a brooding brow, well, that was nobody’s business but his own.

 

#

 

“He was frightened,” George mused as he stared into his cup of tea with a frown. “But I don’t think it was because of what we are.”

Mitchell nodded. From Anders’ behavior, he had a sneaking suspicion that the omega had been hurt in the past, and by an alpha, if his hostile behavior towards Mitchell was anything to go by. It would explain why he was on suppressants.

But he wasn’t going to tell George all of this. The werewolf hadn’t realized that Anders was an omega, and Mitchell really didn’t think it was his place to say anything.

“He also seemed surprised by the offer of help,” he commented instead. “I don’t think he’s used to pretty being that friendly.”

Annie scowled at that. “Well, we’re going to make sure he _gets_ used to it,” she declared, glaring at the two of them as if daring them to disagree. “He’s one of us now.”

Mitchell and George watched her in bewilderment as she stalked out of the room.

“I wonder if Anders is aware that he’s just been adopted by a ghost into the weirdest family ever,” Mitchell quipped, cocking a brow at George.

“Well, I’m not arguing with her,” the werewolf said, throwing his hands up in surrender. “Last time she got mad, she went all poltergeist on us.”

Mitchell chuckled and inclined his head in agreement. “Good call.”

Despite it all, Mitchell couldn’t help to feel intrigued by the feisty blond omega. If he had still been human…

He quickly shook the thought away. It was best not to even consider it. 

Besides, from the sudden move to Bristol and his early reaction, Mitchell was pretty sure Anders had been through enough as it was. He wasn’t going to drag him into a horror flick just because celibacy was starting to wear on him.

tbc…


	5. Chapter Five

Anders threw his head back with a groan as the beta he had picked up at the bar closed his lips around his cock. Fuck, did he love oral sex. It may not have been what his body craved, but it was still fucking amazing.

He fisted his hands in his sheets to keep from grasping at the beta’s (Brian? Ryan? he couldn’t remember) curls. Brian-or-Ryan’s eyes looked up at him shyly before taking him deeper, his throat swallowing around Anders and driving him crazy. He let his eyes flutter close as he tried to ignore the feeling of _wrong_ the beta’s pheromones invoked.

To his mortification, Anders felt a sudden wetness begin building in his backside. The sugary sweet smell of omega slick crept into the room, and he could tell the exact moment that Brian-or-Ryan realized what that meant.

He pulled off of Anders with a loud pop and stared at him with disgust in his eyes. Whatever arousal Anders had felt depleted in an instant.

To his horror and shame, Anders felt the prickling feeling of tears building in his eyes.

**_“Get dressed and leave. Forget you ever met me,”_ ** he snapped, using Bragi to bring an end to the whole situation before he embarrassed himself even further.

Brian-or-Ryan left in a hurry. Anders was glad he always insisted on going back to his place because he wasn’t sure if he would have been able to keep his composure long enough to make his escape.

Knowing there was no use fighting it, he let the tears fall as he curled into a ball on the bed, pulling his duvet over him as his body began to shiver. Fucking hormones. What a stupid response to rejection.

This was exactly why he always chose his partners so carefully, ensuring that they were _definitely_ into him before even approaching and sending them on their way before they even had a chance to tire of him.

It hadn’t really happened to him since he began using the suppressants. Before, it was harder to get some betas to show interest in him, but he hadn’t gotten rejected harshly enough to cause this reaction since he began passing as a beta.

That was mostly because he had never had an incident like this before. Sure, some of his omega pheromones would creep through, giving whatever beta partner he had pause, but Bragi could make him believe he didn’t smell anything. He had never actually gotten _wet_ before.

Anders shuddered at the word, hating having it applied to himself. The only time he wanted to associate the words ‘wet’ and ‘sex’ is when he was rooting a female beta. Getting slick meant that his omega hormones were getting stronger, which meant his suppressants were failing.

He hated himself for the broken sob he gave at the thought. If he didn’t do something to stop it, he was going to go into _heat_.

Heats were absolutely horrible. Three to five days of barricading himself in his room, skin burning and raw, his arse achingly empty and dripping uncomfortably, needing release but his own hands and toys _never_ being enough.

Of course, heats could be indescribably amazing, if only he would give himself over to the mercy of an alpha that would no doubt betray him by bonding with him, pretty much enslaving him for the rest of his life. Which, bonus, would be forever tied to the alpha’s life.

It was little wonder that Anders chose to use suppressants and pass as a beta. Being an omega fucking sucked.

He rolled off the bed as soon as he gained some semblance of control over himself and stumbled into the shower, letting the hot spray wash away the lingering stench of pheromones, being extra sure to scrub away the stickiness around his arsehole, beating down the wave of self-loathing that came with even acknowledging that it was there.

He dried off quickly, not bothering to get dressed and just throwing on his robe. He felt drained and just wanted to sleep, but there was no way he sleeping in his bed before he aired it out a bit and put on new sheets. Instead, he grabbed a spare blanket and pillow and curled up on his lumpy couch.

Anders told himself that he was fine. He would just double up on his dosage of suppressants. Dr. Lichtenstein’s warnings about the pills being toxic was probably bullshit anyway. Doctors surely just said things like that to justify the suppressants being illegal. It was most likely political propaganda.

He knew he was just fooling himself, but he wasn’t ready to face the reality of the situation he was in. As long as he didn’t acknowledge the choice he faced between risking living as an unbound omega or dying from his suppressants, he didn’t have to make it.

 

#

 

Mitchell had never been in this section of the hospital before. The marketing department of the hospital was in a small first floor wing of the hospital, away from the actual patients and doctors and such with IT, legal, and accounting. Though most of the cleaners were scheduled on rotations in different parts of the hospital, this wing was typically handled by Marge and Debra, two older omegas who had worked at the hospital for forever. They were too old to do the more intense cleaning that came with working the other areas of the hospital, so they had been given the job of cleaning the administrative offices.

Because of this, Mitchell knew that accidentally running into Anders at work probably wouldn’t happen. He had hoped that he would see him in the hospital cafeteria, where most of the employees of the hospital ate regardless of their position, but Anders either preferred to bring his lunch or eat somewhere else.

And since he was trying to give the omega space at home to allow him to establish a feeling of safety, Mitchell decided he would just have to seek him out.

A small voice in his head told him that he _could_ just leave Anders alone, regardless of what Annie said, but he steadfastly ignored it. 

“Why couldn’t we have just asked him to lunch yesterday or this morning?” George asked in a whining sort of voice, not particularly comfortable in the office wing of the hospital. Mitchell didn’t understand that, really, considering he was a professor before he became a werewolf, but maybe the office workers were unpleasant reminder of what he’d lost.

George, of course, didn’t understand his thought processes because he hadn’t told the werewolf that Anders was an omega, figuring it wasn’t his secret to tell. Since he couldn’t tell the entire truth, then, he tried appealing to George’s British sensibilities instead.

“How would you like it if two blokes you didn’t know kept butting into your house without being invited?” he asked as they turned the corner. “There’s being friendly, and there’s an invasion of privacy.”

“Speaking of being invited, how were you able to go in the other week when we helped with his bags?” George asked in a low voice.

Mitchell shot him a smirk. “Previous tenant invited me in once.”

“The crazy lady with the ten cats?” he asked in distaste.

He snorted. “Don’t be such a wolfy stereotype. Ah! Here we are!” he cried in triumph as they came upon a heavy-looking wooden door with a nondescript “Marketing” sign on it.

Mitchell opened the door confidently and strode in, George on his heels. He spotted Anders through the blinds of an office on the opposite side of the department. He grinned as the blond’s head snapped up to meet his eyes. He didn’t take the scowl that broke out on the omega’s face personally.

He led George to the office and knocked on the already open door. “You know, people are starting to talk about the new anti-social marketing guy,” he teased as he leaned against the doorjamb. He glanced over at George, giving him a meaningful look.

“We’ve come to take you to the cafeteria,” the werewolf said, taking the hint, though he shot Mitchell a puzzled frown.

Anders scowl only deepened as he looked between the two of them. “I’ll pass.”

Mitchell couldn’t help but pout slightly at the response. “Oh come on! Please? George is going to be mooning pathetically over his nurse, and I really can’t handle sitting through that on my own yet _again_.”

“Oy!” George protested. “I do not _moon_ _pathetically_.”

Mitchell noted with pride, though, that Anders snorted in amusement. “If that pun was intentionally, you’re more clever than you look.”

He frowned. “Pun?”

Anders smirked. “I knew a knothead like you couldn’t be that clever.”

“Well, that’s just sexist, is what that is,” Mitchell pointed out, feigning hurt.

“Yeah, Mitchell can be dim without being a knothead,” George agreed unhelpfully.

After teasing him about Nina, Mitchell supposed he deserved that one.

“You two aren’t going to leave until I agree, are you?” Anders asked in resignation.

Mitchell didn’t like seeing the slump of defeat in those shoulders. “No, we aren’t going to force you,” he assured him, trying to keep his concern out of his voice. “We just thought it might be nice. No one’s going to make you do anything you don’t want to do.”

Anders blinked at that, looking a bit surprised. Mitchell couldn’t help but wonder how the omega had been treated in the past to think that he would be forced to do something against his will, but he couldn’t help but want to hurt someone for that.

His eyes narrowed in suspicion, but Anders gave them a considering look all the same. Mitchell tried to give him the most welcoming and guileless smile he could. The blond was like an animal that had been kicked one too many times. Mitchell knew that he would have to let him make the choice to be friends with them, regardless of what Annie wanted.

“I guess one lunch wouldn’t hurt,” Anders gave in finally.

Mitchell’s smile widened. “Great!”

 

#

 

Anders stared between the two men at the table with him. He couldn’t figure them out. Why were they being so fucking _nice_ to him?

Mitchell had said they wouldn’t make him do anything he didn’t want to do. What did that _mean_? And since when did _alphas_ say something that fucking considerate? Were they trying to lull him into a false sense of security?

But that didn’t make any sense either because what would they even _want_ from him? They didn’t know he was an omega, and they had no idea what he could do as the vessel of Bragi.

So why were they trying to be friends with him?

Knowing there was no use pursuing that line of questioning, though, he decided to ask something else. “So what exactly do you two do here?”

“I’m a cleaner,” Mitchell answered happily, nudging the werewolf next to him, who was staring over at a group of nurses eating on the other side of the cafeteria. “George here is a porter.”

He furrowed his brow. He really wasn’t expecting such menial jobs. Mitchell was an alpha, after all, and they tended to be too egotistical for any sort of custodial type work. And George definitely looked like the bookish type. He had been expecting the werewolf to be a doctor or something.

Mitchell laughed at him, but not in a mean way that put him on edge. In fact, despite knowing that the alpha had the potential to be the most dangerous person Anders had ever met, the vampire himself had never actually set off any warning bells in Anders’ head.

“I know exactly what you’re thinking,” Mitchell told him, lips still curved up in a smile. The man was almost annoying with how much he smiled. “Let’s just say that I keep myself humble to stay out of trouble.”

That was far from a satisfying answer, but Anders was pretty sure that the middle of the hospital cafeteria was probably not the best place to ask any delving questions. “And him?” he said, nodding at George.

“He’s a self-sacrificing idiot,” he replied with a roll of his eyes. “Which is why he won’t ask Nina out even though he _knows_ she’ll say yes.”

George focused back on them at that and glared at Mitchell. “You know a relationship with me is too dangerous,” he hissed. “Besides, she thinks I’m a weird berk”

“You are a weird berk,” Mitchell replied. “Doesn’t mean people can’t like you despite that.”

“Prick,” George muttered.

Anders leaned back and looked at the two of them in bafflement. How exactly was he supposed to believe that they were both monsters straight out of horror movies when they were acting like twelve-year-olds? Still, he couldn’t deny that there was something _different_ about them.

Something that had nothing to do with how weirdly nice they were.

“So, Anders, have you always been in marketing?” George asked him with a pleasant smile. “I was surprised when I heard you got a job there rather than with reception.”

He shrugged. “I got a degree in marketing in New Zealand. Owned my own PR business there,” he said, unable to resist bragging a bit. He winced internally immediately though. That was probably way too much information to just be giving away so freely.

“Must’ve been hard to leave that behind,” Mitchell commented lightly, but something in his eyes made something warm spread through Anders. It made him feel like the alpha actually _understood_.

It was a stupid feeling. Even if Mitchell actually did _know_ what Anders had been through, he could _never_ understand what it was like to be surrounded by people who cared nothing for him, who wanted to control and use him for what he was without even considering how he felt.

Not that he could fault the vampire for that. He knew he was an anomaly that didn’t really fit in anywhere. He was the odd one out in a family of betas, the weird brother who liked to read and draw instead of run and play sports. The odd omega who didn’t want to be an omega, who cringed in fear instead of purring in arousal when an alpha tried to exert his control over him.

He never belonged anywhere. So why the hell did he seem to think that he belonged right where he was?

tbc…


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kinda ran away from me so I hope you enjoy!!!

Given how uncertain the future of his finances was, Anders decided to forego the unnecessary expense of a long-distance phone call to Dawn and just email her. Yes, in theory he could have called her via Skype or something, but she couldn’t bombard him with questions and press him for answers if he emailed her.

So win-win.

Of course, he was then faced with the tough decision over whether or not he should give her his address or have her send his stuff to a storage facility in London or something. That was probably way too much effort for a few boxes of clothes, books, and kitchenware.

Still, as a precaution, he sent her his work address, and he used her work email address, knowing Ty would be less likely to snoop in that.

Content in the knowledge that he would soon have more than ten outfits to wear to work, he stretched out on his couch, made substantially more comfortable by the dozens of cheap pillows he had piled on it, bottle of vodka in easy reach as he flipped on the television.

While a Friday night in wasn’t his usual plan, ever since his hormones had gone a little crazy last weekend, he had decided to lay off going out until he got his suppressants under control. And with the dizzy spells his upped dosage had been causing recently, he probably shouldn’t be going out alone anyway.

Not that it was anything to worry about. He had had similar bouts of vertigo every time he got a higher dosage of his pills. They’d go away in a couple of weeks once his body got used to the new dose.

He was just about to take his first drink of vodka when a pounding at his back door interrupted him.

Anders froze, fear choking him his head snapped towards the sound. He couldn’t see the door from his position, but he was loathe to move to where he could see through the window on the door. After all, if he could see who was outside, that meant they could see _him_.

What if it was his brothers? Or worse, _Collin_?

“Anders!” a muffled female voice shouted from outside the door. “I know you’re in there!”

Fear turned to relief which quickly changed to annoyance when he realized it was just Annie. He scowled as he put down the bottle he was still holding and stomped towards the door and threw it open.

She beamed at him, seemingly undeterred by his glower. “I figured the back door would be better so that no one saw you talking to yourself,” she told him brightly. “I made dinner! And it’s much too much for Mitchell and George to eat on their own so I thought I’d pop over and invite you!” How could someone so dead be so damn _perky_? “And I’m not taking no for an answer!” she added. “It’s not good for a person to be holed up alone all the time.”

“I’m not holed up alone all the time,” Anders said with a roll of his eyes. “I go to work, and your boyfriends have taken to dragging me out for lunch with them pretty much every day. Plenty of socialization happening.”

Maybe not the kind of socializing he was used to, but he had to grudgingly admit that it was kind of nice to share a meal with people who, as far as he could tell, didn’t expect anything of him, even if he didn’t understand their strange persistence in the face of his acerbic attitude.

Annie pouted at him. “Not with _me_ though! Now, come on, you can’t possibly turn down a free meal!”

A tiny voice in his head reminded him that there was no such thing as a free meal, but Anders knew that there was no way he could get rid of the oddly chipper ghost unless he agreed. Besides, he was slightly lacking in the culinary department, and he was smart enough to take a decent meal being offered to him. Paying for takeaway got expensive after a while.

His new budget was yet another reason he cursed his family and Collin for driving him away from New Zealand.

He grabbed his keys and stepped outside, much to Annie’s obvious excitement. He rolled his eyes at her once more as he locked up and followed her towards the house next door. “So since when do ghosts cook?” he asked as they walked through the door to the kitchen.

“Don’t question it!” Mitchell exclaimed as he reached into a cabinet for glasses. He shot Anders a grin. “Usually all she does is make tea she can’t drink. Making food for us is a vast improvement.”

Anders couldn’t help but think the entire scene, with Mitchell getting drinks and George setting the table, looked extremely domestic. He hated the pang of longing in his heart. His family was as far from “domestic” as you could probably get. He didn’t like something that he could never have being thrown in his face without warning.

He shook off the feeling as he stepped further into the kitchen and carefully didn’t let his eyes linger on Mitchell too long, instead eyeballing the dish that Annie had just pulled out of the oven. He still thought it was odd that the ghost could pick up things as if she had a body.

“But is it _good_ food?” he asked, probably rudely if he were honest.

George just shrugged. “It’s shepherd’s pie. It’s hard to mess up shepherd’s pie.”

“I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to bake shepherd’s pie,” Anders pointed out.

Annie just smiled pleasantly at him. “I was just keeping it in the oven to keep it warm,” she explained.

Honestly, what exactly did he have to _do_ to make these people annoyed at him? It was _weird_ that they were so nice and patient with him when Anders was very purposefully not curbing his propensity to be a dick.

Annie proudly set the larger-than-necessary shepherd’s pie on the table. Seriously, there were only _three_ of them that would be eating it. She then glared at them all until they quickly took their seats at the table.

Anders had to admit that the food was delicious, something he hadn’t quite expected from a ghost chef who couldn’t tell if she over- or under-seasoned. He would have preferred something to drink other than the glass of water Mitchell had set in front of him, but he had plenty of vodka back home to rectify his sadly sober state with later.

If he had thought that he would feel a bit left out of the conversation with the other three knowing each other so well, he was mistaken. Annie seemed particularly determined to include him. Even if she hadn’t, though, he was so intrigued by some of the topics touched on that he had to insert himself regardless.

“You got another batch of blood today while you were at the hospital,” Annie told Mitchell, her nose scrunched up in disgust. “I put the bags in the bottom drawer of the fridge.”

“Wait, you drink blood out of bags?” Anders asked. He had assumed that the vampire drank directly from people.

Mitchell just shrugged. “It’s safer that way.”

“Is it as satisfying?” It was probably a stupid thing to ask, but he was honestly curious.

“It keeps the blood-thirst at bay,” he replied stiffly. Anders barely suppressed at triumphant smirk. _That_ , at least, seemed to break through the weird pleasantness the vampire always adopted around him.

“Barely,” Annie said as she pursed her lips. “They practically starve him,” she explained to Anders before looking back to Mitchell. “It’s barbaric.”

“It’s necessary,” he snapped back impatiently. “I’d rather have a restricted diet than hurt someone.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” she huffed.

Mitchell glared at her. “If I feed more, I get stronger. At full strength, the other vampires wouldn’t be able to stop me if it became necessary.”

“Because you’re an alpha?” Anders said, furrowing his brow. “Are there no other alpha vampires?”

“The vampire community is run by a council made up solely of omegas, though there are betas in the community as well. About a thousand years ago, alpha vampires ruled with an iron fist, but they were too volatile. They never fed without killing, and they garnered far too much attention,” Mitchell explained. “The omega and beta vampires made an alliance with werewolves and overthrew them. All alpha vampires were destroyed and it was made a crime punishable by death for anyone to create an alpha vampire.”

“But someone made you?” Anders pointed out.

He snorted. “That didn’t turn out so well for him,” he muttered before taking a sip of his water.

“So omega vampires remain unbound then?” he asked, trying to keep his voice casual and project an indifferent interest in the answer. The idea of being on top of the food chain, so to speak, as an omega excited him, though. Even if the thought of drinking blood was equally disgusting to him.

“No, most of them take human bondmates,” Mitchell replied as he set his glass down, voice back to being overly pleasant. Anders bit back a scowl at that. He didn’t like that as it made him feel like the vampire was treating him with kid-gloves. “The bond works the same, though, letting them share their lifespans and such, so the humans can live as long as the vampires do.”

Anders just hummed thoughtfully as he took a bite of his food, but on the inside he wanted to sigh. Of course being a vampire wouldn’t be enough to free him from his body’s stupid needs. Not that he _wanted_ to be a vampire, but it annoyed him all the same.

“So what can you do as a Norse god?” George asked, changing the subject and giving Anders an encouraging smile.

“I’m not actually a god,” he answered, avoiding the question. “I’m Bragi’s vessel.”

“What’s the difference?” Annie prompted eagerly. Mitchell didn’t really look all that interested as he poked at his food.

For some reason, that bugged him.

“Well, I’m _not_ Bragi,” he pointed out. “Bragi just sorta lives in me and lets me use his powers occasionally.”

George furrowed his brow. “That sounds a bit weird.”

“You get used to it,” he said with a tilt of his head. It wasn’t something he even really noticed anymore, the presence of the god in the in back of his head. Bragi didn’t really interfere with his life all that much.

Before his ceremony, Mike had told him that his god would be a guide for him, a mentor of sorts. Ty had once told him that Hodr was a nosy bastard that, like the cold he represented, crept into every corner of his mind and never held back his opinion. Olaf told him that Baldr and he were as close as bondmates, though admittedly, his grandfather had been stoned out of his mind at the time.

Anders and Bragi weren’t like that. In fact, if he couldn’t feel Bragi’s silent presence, Anders wouldn’t even know he was there at all. The god allowed Anders unfettered access to his powers, making no comment or suggestion on how or when Anders used them. He was grateful, not wanting yet another person in his life trying to control him, especially one he couldn’t escape from, but he couldn’t help but feel that the relationship he had with his god was wrong. That _he_ was wrong because Bragi didn’t want anything to do with him.

He quickly schooled his features as he noticed Mitchell’s eyes watching him carefully from across the table. The vampire noticed way too fucking much.

“So what powers do you have?” Annie asked, bringing Anders back to the conversation.

He felt slightly panicky at the question. It was one thing for them to know _what_ he was, but it was quite another for them to know what he could _do_. It felt too much like he was giving up an advantage.

“He doesn’t have to tell us what he can do,” Mitchell chimed in, frowning at Annie as she gave him an indignant look. “He doesn’t owe us anything.”

Mitchell’s help was unexpected after Anders had pumped him for answers about vampires. He didn’t really know what to make of the kind smile Mitchell sent his way, the easy support the vampire offered without thought.

It pissed him off.

“I can bend mortals to my will,” he stated proudly, letting his eyes sweep across their stunned faces and daring them to judge him for his abilities.

Annie furrowed her brow, and for once, her eyes didn’t seem welcoming to Anders. Resigned acceptance filled his heart but he met her gaze arrogantly. He knew that they would eventually tire of the whole neighborly act eventually.

“You mean like how alphas can control their bondmates?” she asked. “But you can do that with _anyone_?”

He started at that. He had never likened his power to that of a bonded alpha, mostly because that type of power was something he himself feared so much. Besides, the two were completely different.

“I can’t completely control someone, if that’s what you’re asking,” he told her haughtily. “I just make extremely persuasive suggestions.”

“So nowhere near the mental oppression of an alpha?” she clarified, looking relieved and smiling at him once more.

“No,” Anders stated emphatically. “It’s not that strong,” he admitted as an afterthought.

He sometimes wished Bragi were stronger, which is why he had initially been all for helping Axl find Frigg. As it was, if someone were truly set in a course of action, like an alpha intent on having an omega in heat, for instance, then Bragi would be of little help. With his full powers, though, Bragi could ensure that no mortal ever took advantage of his vessel.

That wouldn’t, however, stop his dear family and the other gods and goddesses from taking advantage of him though.

“Well, seeing as how everyone sees to be finished eating, who wants tea?” George asked as he looked about the table.

Anders shook his head. “I should be going.”

The instant he stood up the room began tilting oddly to the right, and he shot a hand out to catch the table in order to steady himself. Despite the table being _right there_ , though, his hand seemed to go right through it, and he closed his eyes and braced himself for a fall that never came.

Mitchell had caught him.

He knew it was Mitchell even those his eyes were closed because his body instantly curled into him in order to be closer to the strong presence of _alpha_. He would curse the motion if the scent didn’t cause his head to spin even more than it already was, making it impossible to think.

He was mortified when an actual fucking _whimper_ passed his lips as Mitchell made to pull away. He wanted to die of shame when those strong arms lifted him up and cradled him to the alpha’s chest.

“Put me down, John,” he slurred out, words completely undermined by the way he clutched at the vampire’s hideous shirt.

“You can barely stand, let alone walk,” Mitchell growled. “I’m going to take him home,” he continued more calmly, obviously addressing Annie and George.

“Can get home on my own,” Anders muttered, burying his face in Mitchell’s shoulder to block out the light that shone through his tightly closed eyelids.

The vampire snorted. “Sure you can.”

He suddenly felt the swaying and swooping motions that came alone with being carried, and he scowled, hating both himself and Mitchell and the entire fucked up world. It didn’t take them long, thankfully, to reach his house though.

“Your door is locked,” Mitchell told him.

“Then put me down so I can unlock it,” he spat, surprised when the vampire actually complied with his demand. He made to push away from Mitchell altogether, but the second he had to support his own weight, he nearly face-planted. His hand shot out to clutch Mitchell’s arm, and he opened his eyes finally to glare at the alpha.

“Not a fucking word.”

He took his keys out of his pocket, and after a minute of fumbling, the door was unlocked. Anders was instantly scooped back into Mitchell’s arms.

“Hey!” he protested weakly, unwilling to admit that he was grateful he didn’t have to support himself any longer. It was slightly less embarrassing now that it was just him and Mitchell in the privacy of his own home, but still.

Mitchell glared down at him and kicked the door shut before silently striding to Anders’s bed room and unceremoniously dropping him on the bed. The vampire glowered down at him. “Do you know how fucking dangerous whatever fucking suppressants you’re taking are?”

For the second time that night, icy fear clawed it’s way into Anders’ heart, causing him to seize up in horror. “What are you talking about?” he hissed entirely unconvincingly.

The brunet rolled his eyes. “I’m a vampire, I can _smell_ that you’re an omega.”

Anders stared up at him with more bravado than he was feeling and dared to ask, “And what do you plan on doing about that?”

His eyes widened at the question. “What! Nothing!” Mitchell cried, throwing his hands up in exasperation. For some reason, Anders believed him and his fear disintegrated. Not that he was going to tell _Mitchell_ that. “Not all alphas are arseholes, you know?” the vampire added hotly.

Anders scowled. “Well excuse me if I haven’t exactly met any that aren’t,” he snapped.

Mitchell looked like someone had just kicked his puppy. “I haven’t been an arsehole to you.”

“Which has been pretty fucking confusing so that in itself makes you an arsehole,” he retorted, completely aware that his statement made no logical sense and not caring one bit.

“Well excuse _me_ if I’m too nice to you,” the vampire shot back. “I didn’t realize what a prick I was being.”

“Why don’t you just tell me what you want from me so I can get some fucking rest?” Anders asked, falling back on the bed and folding his arms in front of him protectively.

Mitchell deflated at that. “I just want to be your friend, Anders,” he said softly, giving him an earnest look. “And I _really_ don’t want you to kill yourself with those suppressants.”

Anders looked away, unable to take the fucking sincerity in the vampire’s eyes. “There are worse things than death,” he muttered.

He snorted. “Yeah, you don’t have to tell the vampire that,” he quipped before turning serious once more. “But there are other alternatives. Just… think about it, alright?”

He didn’t answer him. After a moment of silence, Mitchell sighed and walked out the door, pausing only to whisper a quick “Goodnight” to him before leaving.

Anders squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to beat back his emotions. It worked for the most part, but that just left him to focus on his complete bafflement at the behavior of the alpha that just left and his own reaction to him.

Deciding that he’d never figure anything out with a still dizzy head, he let the exhaustion of his night drag him down into sleep. He’d worry about everything else in the morning.

tbc…


	7. Chapter Seven

Mitchell had been hard pressed to dodge Annie and George’s questions and not give away that Anders was an omega. He didn’t think the blond would appreciate him outing him like that, though, if he could get Anders off the suppressants like he hoped, it wouldn’t be a secret any longer. Still, he wasn’t going to force the Kiwi into anything.

He had spent all night looking up information for the omega, trying to make good on his assurances to Anders the night before that there were alternatives for him. And while he was very sure that there _were_ alternatives when he had said it, because there were _millions_ of omegas out there that managed to get through life without suppressants, he hadn’t really known what they _were_.

And he certainly hadn’t realized that the options kinda sucked. It was no wonder that most omegas, even vampire omegas, bonded young.

Armed with his knowledge, though, he walked next door a little after noon, wanting to give Anders enough time to wake up and adjust a bit to the idea of Mitchell knowing what he was.

The blond answered the door and scowled as he caught sight of Mitchell. Well, it was nice to see he wasn’t treating Mitchell any differently at least.

“John,” he greeted, turning on his heel and walking back in the house, leaving the door open, though, in obvious invitation.

Mitchell rolled his eyes and followed the blond inside, long since over his annoyance at Anders calling him by his given name. The name was part of his past, something he hadn’t been called since he went off to war. His fellow soldiers had called him Mitchell, Herrick had called him Mitchell, the Council called him Mitchell.

He hadn’t been John for over a hundred years. It had initially irked him when Anders had insisted on calling him John, even if he had hidden it well. Now, he almost _liked_ being John to Anders.

Every time he thought something like that, though, he beat it down fiercely. He was determined to be there for Anders _as a friend_. Nothing more.

Anders was eying him from where he was sitting on the end of the couch, eyes full of suspicion and mistrust. Mitchell tried to keep as much space between them as possible so as not to make him uncomfortable. Unfortunately, considering the couch was the only piece of furniture to sit on in the room, he was forced to sit next to him, though he did try to make himself as small as possible at the other end.

“Well go ahead,” Anders said imperiously. “Let’s get the sanctimonious lecture out of the way.”

Mitchell sighed heavily. “I’m not here to lecture you, Anders. But the suppressants are _killing_ you! You can’t expect me to just say nothing!”

“I don’t see how it’s any of your fucking business if something is killing me,” he snapped, folding his arms and glaring at Mitchell. “You’ve known me a month. I don’t think me dying is going to be a great loss for you.”

“Of _course_ it would be a loss!” he cried incredulously. “Christ, Anders, you’re my _friend_! I’m not sure how friendship works in New Zealand, but here, we don’t just let our friend _die_ without trying to help them!”

“I never asked you to be my friend!” he shot back.

“You didn’t have to!” Mitchell shouted in exasperation. He deflated at that, leaning forward to rest his elbows against his knees and scrub his face with his hands. “Anders, you don’t understand—”

“No, _you_ don’t understand,” Anders interrupted hotly, arms still folded tightly in front of him in a defensive position. “You don’t understand what it’s like to be a fucking _omega_ ,” he spat. “To be driven out of your mind during heats by a lust you can’t satisfy no matter what the _fuck_ you do. And heaven help you if an unbound alpha happens to decide he wants you and he won’t take fucking no for an answer. And if he bonds you against your will…”

Anders cut himself off, snapping his jaw close and looking away, obviously trying to compose himself.

Mitchell knew exactly what happened if an alpha raped and forcibly bonded an omega—absolutely nothing. The alpha just fucking walked. Because what was the law supposed to do? The omega suffered more if they were separated from their unwanted alpha, and the death of the alpha would just mean the death of the omega.

Biology sucked sometimes.

“Is that what happened to you?” he asked softly, wanting to reach out to comfort the upset blond, but he didn’t want to spook him. “Did an alpha try to…?”

Anders scoffed. “Yes,” he admitted bitterly. “My first heat. I was still in high school, he was the captain of the wrestling team. If his coach hadn’t caught him… well, surprisingly, things might be better right now,” he said with a considering look in his eyes and a humorless laugh.

Mitchell winced. He really didn’t know if Anders being bonded to his would-be rapist was any better than Anders slowly killing himself with suppressants, but he wasn’t going to let either happen.

“But enough to the sad story,” Anders said roughly, clearing his throat and looking at him expectantly. “You’re not going to go away until I let you try and convince me to go off the suppressants so go ahead.”

“If you really wanted me to go away, you’d tell me to go away,” he pointed out with a roll of his eyes. Anders was anything but subtle.

“Well, I can’t Bragi you every time I see you into forgetting I’m an omega, so there’s no use Bragi-ing you now to get you to go away,” he said petulantly.

“You don’t have to _Bragi_ me to get me to leave you alone,” he told him with a frown. “I’d like you to listen to what I have to say because I care about you and I don’t want you to die, but if you really want me to go, I’ll go.”

Anders narrowed his eyes and stared at him a moment or two before leaning back into the lumpy cushions of the couch, a bit more relaxed than before. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

Now that he had the omega’s begrudging attention, Mitchell really wasn’t sure where to begin. “Look, you have to come off the suppressants. Taking them for an extended period of time leads to death. Everyone pretty much agrees about that,” he said, eyes staying locked on Anders’ face to see the effect his words were having.

All the blond did was raise an eyebrow. “Not telling me anything I haven’t heard before, John,” he quipped.

“There are other ways to deal with the heats,” he implored. “And if it takes me being your own personal vampire bodyguard for you to feel safe, I’ll do it! Anything you need. Just… don’t kill yourself like this.”

Mitchell wasn’t sure _why_ he felt so strongly about this to offer such a thing, but he’d do it. Maybe it was his guilty conscience trying to make up for the people he’d killed in the past. Maybe saving this one life, _Anders’_ life, was an attempt to make up for the lives he had taken.

Whatever it was, he wasn’t going to delve into it too closely. He had a sneaking suspicion about what he would find, and he wasn’t ready to face that yet.

Thankfully, Anders didn’t dwell on Mitchell’s offer of safety. “What other ways?” he asked wearily. “Do you think I haven’t tried everything? Toys, artificial pheromones, _nothing_ _works_.”

Mitchell’s brain schismed a bit at the idea of Anders and _toys_ , but he ruthlessly beat down that mental image. Thinking things like that was very much _not helpful_.

“I didn’t just get on the suppressants because they were an easy solution,” Anders continued in a soft voice. “Yeah, I liked the independence they gave me, and I liked not having to be scared all the time, but I don’t normally want to die. During heats though…”

“There are heat relievers you can get now,” Mitchell suggested, hating that Anders had to go through this at all. “They only became available about seven years ago, but they’re supposed to help with heat symptoms.”

Anders turned away from him, an angry set to his shoulders. “Stop looking at me like that,” he spat. “I don’t need your _pity_. And I really doubt any heat reliever would help enough.”

“I don’t _pity_ you!” he protested, not having anything to say to the second part of Anders’ argument. From what he had read online, the heat relievers _didn’t_ help all that much. “There’s a difference between sympathy and pity, you know.”

He snorted. “Whatever. I’m not stupid, you know,” he said, turning his head to glare at the vampire while still keeping his body turned away. “I know the only way for the heats to not be torture is to get an alpha’s help. If you’re angling to be the one to help, you can just fuck off. I’m not going to give you or anything other alpha the opportunity to bond me when I’m out of my mind with lust and can’t fight back!”

Mitchell growled at that. “I would _never_ do that,” he shot back angrily. “This might be a shock to you, but not every alpha wants to bond with you! And even if you asked me to help you during your heat, I would say no.”

The whole point of this entire conversation was to keep Anders _alive._ Why the fuck would he want to take the omega to bed _knowing_ he’d likely kill him? No matter how good the blond would laid bare in front of him, Mitchell would _not_ risk his life like that.

Anders looked taken aback by that, an odd, vulnerable light in his eyes before they hardened into ice. “Trust me, I wouldn’t ask,” he said coolly.

“You said yourself that you don’t want to die though,” Mitchell stated firmly. “And I don’t know why you left New Zealand, but you are obviously running from something. You care enough about your life that you’d rather uproot yourself to the other side of the world rather than lose it. And you’re smart enough to know that those suppressants _will_ kill you.”

“And if I go off them, what will happen?” Anders snapped. “The hospital will know I’ve been lying about being a beta. If on the off-chance I’m not fired, I’ll go from being a respected colleague whose opinions matter to treated with conde-fucking-scending _politeness_ before my thoughts are completely disregarded.”

“Well, luckily you have the ability to _make_ people listen to you if they won’t,” he pointed out. He really hoped that Anders didn’t have to use his godly powers to get respect, but at least he had the option. “Besides, the UK has some pretty good discrimination and sexual harassment laws that are supposed to keep that from happening.”

Anders face twisted in some unnamable emotion as he stared at the wall in thought. Just when Mitchell was about to say something else, _anything_ else, to convince him that the suppressants weren’t worth it, the blond turned back to him, a hesitant look in his eye.

“You’ll make sure that no alpha jumps me, right?” Anders asked in a small, pained voice. Mitchell’s barely-beating heart clenched, knowing how difficult the question was for the omega. In the short time he had known him, he had come to know that Anders never asked or expected help from anyone. “Not that I want you to dog my steps or anything,” the blond added quickly, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “But I wouldn’t mind if you, you know, kept an eye out for me sometimes…”

“Anything you need,” Mitchell assured him. “I’ll be there for you.”

“Not _anything_ ,” the blond muttered bitterly. “But okay.”

Relief seized him, but he looked at Anders suspiciously. It felt like it was too easy. This was a man who had been passing for a beta for _years_. Why was he giving up _now_?

“This feels like a trick,” he said with narrowed eyes. “You gave in way too quickly.”

Anders scowled down at his lap. “Don’t read too much into it,” he told him, an angry note in his voice. “I’ll give it a try to see if I can handle the heats, but I’m not making any promises.”

Mitchell wished he knew what was going on in the blond’s head. Was he angry at Mitchell or himself? He didn’t know, but he also didn’t think it was very wise to press the issue.

“Fair enough.”

 

 

To his supreme relief, Anders managed to keep from breaking down until _after_ Mitchell left. He watched from the window as Mitchell walked to his own house before he let his knees give out from beneath him and he curled up in front of the door in a tight ball, sobs heaving in his chest as tears streamed down his face.

Why the fuck was he _crying_ , he thought angrily, rubbing his balled-up fists into his eyes roughly. He didn’t _want_ Mitchell to try to get his in fucking pants during his heat. Why did the fact that Mitchell had flat _rejected_ him make him so fucking upset?

If it was this bad _now_ , heat really was going to suck, he realized, trying to focus on the pain of his fists digging into his eyes instead of his spiraling emotions. Wasn’t being horny as hell with no prayer for relief bad enough? Did his body really have to make him a vulnerable and emotional wreck afterwards?

Fuck, he couldn’t believe that he actually told Mitchell that he’d go off the suppressants. He didn’t know why he had agreed to that. Sure, he had wanted Mitchell to leave before he broke down, but couldn’t he come up with some other way?

Maybe he should just leave… Running away had worked once…

That idea was out, though, because Dawn had emailed him this morning to say that she had shipped his stuff already. Dammit.

It didn’t help anything that Mitchell was right. The suppressants would kill him. He had thought he would have at least another decade before he was any serious danger, but it was clear from last night that they were causing damage right now.

Anders _didn’t_ want to die. 

But he didn’t want to live as a slave, either. Not to his own body, and not to some fucking alpha.

Why the fuck were those his only options?

tbc…


	8. Chapter Eight

By the time Monday morning rolled around, Anders felt a little more emotionally put together. Which was good, because he had skipped his Saturday and Sunday doses of suppressants, actually following through on the asinine promise had made to Mitchell. He knew that anyone who caught a whiff of him now would _know_.

He had slept like crap last night. Mostly because he was slightly terrified of going to work. He had managed to shut himself inside his house all of Sunday. He had thought that he would have to fend off Annie or Mitchell, but they had kept their distance. He was glad that Annie had left him alone. He wasn’t going to admit how disappointed he was that Mitchell had as well.

Now he was sitting alone on his sofa, an hour before he had to leave for work, fully dressed and bouncing his leg anxiously.

No, he decided finally, shaking his head. He couldn’t go to work. He couldn’t do this. Couldn’t walk out the door stinking of omega. 

He stood up. He’d take a couple of days off. Maybe a week to be safe. He’d take his suppressants right now. Surely by next Monday, he’d smell safely like a beta again. Before he could make it to his medicine cabinet, though, a knock sounded on his front door.

Anders hated that his first reaction to an unexpected visitor was to cringe in fear. 

He crept silently to the window in the living room, hoping he could discreetly peek out it to see if it was safe to open the door. He carefully pulled back one of the cheap curtains ever so slightly and nearly sagged in relief as he spotted Mitchell standing outside, though that quickly changed to annoyance as he stomped over to the door and opened it.

“Isn’t there something about vampires and sunlight that’s supposed to spare me from being annoyed by you on bright, sunny mornings?” he asked with a scowl. “And who the fuck wears a leather jacket when it’s this warm?”

Mitchell just grinned at him. “Now is that any way to talk to someone who brought breakfast?” he quipped, holding up a white paper bag and one of those cup-carrier things with two cups of what Anders hoped was coffee. If it was tea, he might actually kick the stupid vampire out.

He begrudgingly opened the door a bit wider and let Mitchell slide in before shutting it tightly and locking it, paranoid about his scent even if he hadn’t actually walked outside.

Mitchell had walked confidently to his little kitchen and plonked his offerings on the small table. He grinned as he pulled out a couple of breakfast sandwiches. “I’ve got all the stuff for the coffee,” he told him, turning the bag over and letting a variety of little packets fall out. “I wasn’t sure how you took it.”

Something warm curled in Anders chest, but he ignored it. Just because he knew Mitchell preferred tea and the vampire had gotten coffee because _Anders_ liked it better, didn’t mean that he was going to fall over himself about it.

“Come by to make sure I was keeping my promise?” he spat bitterly instead, leaning against the kitchen doorjamb with his arms folded.

Mitchell blinked up at him, genuine surprise in his eyes before he gave Anders a wry smile. “As I recall, you specifically told me that you weren’t making any promises,” he commented lightly. “But if you want to know why I’m here, well, I thought I’d offer to ride in with you for, you know, support,” he added sheepishly. “I switched my schedule this week so that I have all day shifts.”

“Are you using my gender crisis to bum a ride to work?” Anders asked incredulously.

The vampire just rolled his eyes. “Yes, Anders, I made the suppressants nearly kill you and begged you to go off of them just so that you _might_ welcome the company of an alpha when you walk to and from your car in the mornings and evenings, all with the purpose of saving on bus fare.”

“I knew it,” he quipped with a triumphant smirk, which slipped off his face as his joking mood faded quickly. “I can’t do this,” he admitted quietly, staring at the table and internally bracing himself for the alpha to be angry with him. “I thought I could be brave enough but I _can’t_.”

He didn’t even know why he _cared_ what Mitchell thought about his cowardice, but he did. And confessing that he couldn’t be brave like the vampire had asked him wrenched something deep inside of him that hurt more than he had thought possible.

It was fine though. He was sure that Mitchell’s reaction to his confession would prove him right in his belief that people weren’t worth caring for and that they would only hurt you once they realized you weren’t who they thought you were.

Anders was so focused on fending off a loud, potentially violent, reaction from the vampire, he almost missed the brunet’s movement. He furrowed his brow in confusion as Mitchell walked slowly towards him, his arms slightly open. He was almost certain that the careful movements didn’t signal an attack, but he didn’t know what to make of them until the vampire reached him.

And wrapped his strong arms around him, pulling him into a gentle embrace.

Anders froze, not sure what was happening. Well, he knew what was happening, that was fucking obvious. Mitchell was _hugging_ him. What he didn’t know was _why_ Mitchell was hugging him.

“You _are_ brave,” the vampire insisted before Anders could ask him what the fuck he was doing. “Do you think a coward would have had the courage to move to the opposite side of the fucking Earth and start a new life?”

He snorted derisively, leaning into Mitchell’s hold despite himself. “That wasn’t bravery. That was running away. The ultimate act of cowardice.”

“Sometimes running from a fight you can’t win is more brave than trying to fight,” he replied, craning his neck to look down at Anders with a gentle smile. 

Anders scowled up at him. “How do you know I couldn’t win?” he shot back. “You don’t know what I was running from.”

“Do you think you could have won?” Mitchell asked, surprising him. Anders was sure the vampire was going to press him for more details of what he left behind in New Zealand.

His mind drifted to Colin, with Loki’s powers, aided by Mike’s Ullr and Axl’s Odin, and sighed. “No,” he shook his head. “No, I couldn’t have.”

“You did what you had to do,” he told him in satisfaction, pulling Anders close again and resting his chin on top of his head. The blond would never admit how safe that made him feel. “And I’m betting you’ve always done what you had to do in order to survive. This is just one more thing that you have to do to survive. Only this time, you’re not alone.”

“Because you need a ride to work,” he said, just to be a dick. He had to say something to negate the fact that he had fucking melted into Mitchell’s embrace like a fucking ice cream cone.

The vampire chuckled. “If it makes you feel better to think of it that way.”

Anders chose to take that as an admission that he was right, no matter how it was phrased. He let himself be held for a few seconds longer before clearing his throat and stepping away.

“Alright then, let’s eat and then hit the road.”

 

#

 

Mitchell had thought he might have been making a mistake earlier when he wrapped Anders in his arms. He wasn’t sure if the omega had been hurt in the past and he certainly hadn’t wanted to drive him away. Now, though, he was sure that it had been a mistake to not offer Anders physical comfort before then.

Anders had been surprised, obviously not used to a tender touch, but he had warmed up to it quicker than Mitchell had thought he would. He couldn’t help but remember how the blond had curled into his hold when he had carried him back to his house the other night.

Whatever was in the Ander’s past, Mitchell didn’t think he had been shown much love. And the vampire’s blood boiled at the thought that this strong man was confused by a comforting hug.

He hadn’t brought it up over breakfast or on the way to the hospital. Anders, he knew, had enough on his plate this morning without Mitchell making him talk about his past or his emotional baggage. He knew he had made the right call when they entered the hospital together and all of their co-workers gave Anders a double take when they caught a whiff of his scent.

Mitchell couldn’t help but step closer to the omega when he saw some of the alphas eyeing him with consideration, shooting them a foreboding look that had most of them quickly averting their gaze. A couple of the doctors, however, just stared back in challenge.

Anders didn’t look at any of them, stomping straight towards the the administrative wing, Mitchell following him until they reached the door to the marketing department, where the blond whirled around and scowled at him.

“Pretty sure you don’t work in this area,” he snapped. “You don’t have to follow me like a fucking guard dog. Don’t want people getting the wrong idea about us, do we?”

He shrugged, letting Anders’ attitude roll off of his back like water. If he had learned anything about the blond, it was that he liked acting like a complete dick just to see people’s reactions. Mitchell was fairly certain it was a defense mechanism of sorts. So far, Anders hadn’t thrown anything at him that he couldn’t handle.

“Let people think what they want,” he told him with a gentle smile. “But I’ll let you get to work and come get you for lunch. I’ll be working the second floor today so if you need me, feel free to hunt me down.” Mitchell probably wouldn’t have been nearly so blasé about leaving Anders to his work if he didn’t know that his small department was comprised only of betas.

With a final scowl, Anders turned on his heel and stomped into the marketing department. Mitchell bit back a laugh. The blond really was incredibly attractive when he was riled up.

He shoved that thought away immediately. That wouldn’t do to think about _at all_.

It took George about an hour into his shift to find him. Mitchell honestly expected the werewolf to hunt him down sooner.

“You knew,” he accused him immediately with a deep frown.

Mitchell didn’t bother playing dumb. Not with George. “Yeah, I knew,” he sighed. “Anders didn’t know I knew until he nearly passed out the other night, though.”

George gave him a hard look. “Just what is your plan, Mitchell? You aren’t thinking about staking your claim, are you? Because you know what happened last time—”

“I’m not ‘staking my claim,’” he growled, cutting the other man off with a glare. “I would _never_ put Anders at risk like that. Not after everything he’s been through.”

Not that he actually _knew_ what the other man had been through, but still, the point remained.

The werewolf’s eyes widened in realization. “You love him.”

Panic sliced through Mitchell at the words and he was quick to deny them. “What? No! Of course not! I’ve known him for a month! Don’t be ridiculous.”

“If you want me to believe you, you shouldn’t deny it that profusely,” George told him with a roll of his eyes, leaning casually against the wall and giving Mitchell a knowing smile. “And maybe it’s not full-blown love yet, but you definitely fancy him.”

With George giving him that look, Mitchell had to be honest with himself. “Maybe,” he muttered, leaning against the opposite wall with a heavy sigh. “But it can’t go anywhere so it doesn’t matter.”

“It might be able to go somewhere,” George told him optimistically. “After all, the two you tried to… you know… with.” Mitchell rolled his eyes at his best friend’s uncomfortable tone at the allusion to sex. “Well, you didn’t really _know_ them, right? They were just one-offs,” he continued. “And they were betas. You might be able to control yourself better if it were an omega you actually cared about.”

Mitchell raised an eyebrow. “Would you risk it with Nina?” he asked ruefully, already knowing the answer.

George sighed in defeat and shook his head. “No. I wouldn’t.”

Mitchell gave him a grim smile before pushing off of the wall and getting back to work, trying to put Anders out of his mind for the moment.

Admitting to George and himself that he cared for the blond in a non-platonic way may have been the so-called healthy way to deal with his emotions, but suppressing them had been a hell of a lot easier. Having feelings for the omega, knowing that he could never act on them, was a hurt greater than he had ever felt before.

But it was a hurt he would happily bear as long as it meant Anders was safe.

 

#

 

Anders only waited for Mitchell to come meet him at his office because the vampire had practically begged him at lunch to not walk to his car without him. Anders thought that the brunet was being a bit melodramatic, but he had acquiesced anyway, as a favor to Mitchell of course, and _not_ because he was scared to walk to his car alone.

Because he definitely wasn’t scared. Understandably cautious, but not _scared_.

Who the fuck was he kidding? He was fucking terrified. But who would blame him? He had _seen_ the way the alphas in the hospital had looked at him. Like he was fresh meat walking through the fucking door. And he had also seen how most of them backed down under Mitchell’s glare. Unfortunately, though, he had also seen how a few had only looked like they had been challenged.

He paced his office nervously at that thought. Everyone else in the marketing department had gone home already, leaving Anders alone in their little corner of the hospital.

What if one of those alphas who hadn’t backed down realized he was alone and…?

Anders nearly jumped out of his skin as a light knock sounded on his closed door before it opened to reveal Mitchell giving him a sheepish smile in answer to his glare.

“Sorry I’m a bit late,” he said. “Some kid vomited all over the floor five minutes before my shift was over.”

The blond blanched at that. “You can spare me the details,” he said in disgust. He brushed past Mitchell and began leading him down the corridor confidently, his fear eased by the vampire’s presence.

“How did your boss take you being an omega?” Mitchell asked curiously, long legs allowing him to easily catch up to Anders.

He snorted. “He was very sympathetic to my position,” he replied with a roll of his eyes. “His son is an omega. But while I appreciate the understanding, I could’ve done without the condescending fatherly attitude.”

He had had a father, a pretty fucking crappy one. Anders really didn’t need another.

“Well, at least you didn’t lose your job,” Mitchell pointed out brightly.

Anders glared at him and sped up, annoyed when the vampire easily kept pace.

“So, I should warn you that Annie is going to find out you’re an omega as soon as George gets home,” Mitchell said a little bit later, once they were in the car and on their way home. “I’d be prepared if I were you.”

He groaned at that. “She’s not going to be an overbearing mother hen, is she?”

“Worse,” he replied with a smirk. “She’s going to latch onto you even tighter now. She’s a big believer in omegas sticking together.”

That surprised Anders. “She’s an omega?”

Mitchell nodded. “Well, she _was_ an omega,” he clarified.

Anders let that sink in as he turned onto their street. He had always avoided other omegas like the plague, but he couldn’t help wondering if Annie could give him some pointers on how to deal with being an open omega.

Not that he was actually planning on asking for her advice. His pride was already battered enough, thank you very fucking much.

He parked the SUV on the curb and walked briskly towards his house, grateful for the vampire’s presence at his side but not sparing him an acknowledging glance. He froze, though, as he reached his home and he realized that Mitchell was going to continue on to his own.

He must’ve stood there staring at his dark house longer than he thought because he suddenly felt a gentle touch to his elbow before Mitchell’s voice broke through his thoughts.

“Are you okay?”

He gave himself a mental shake before scowling. “Fine,” he growled, stomping towards his door without a look back at the alpha.

How many fucking years had he lived alone without fear? Why should he be afraid now? Just because there were alphas out there who knew he was an omega and had relatively easy access to his address?

Anders bit his lip as he fumbled with his keys, his hands shaking so much that he dropped them.

Before he could stoop to pick them up, however, a hand clad in a fingerless olive glove had scooped them up.

Mitchell gave him an understanding look. “No one would blame you for being afraid.”

He snorted. “I don’t see why not. I’m blamed for every other fucking thing,” he spat bitterly.

The vampire brought his hands up to cup Anders’ face, prompting the blond to give him a startled stare. The touch felt so… intimate… that he didn’t really know how to process it.

Especially knowing that Mitchell _did not want him_.

“ _I_ don’t blame you,” the alpha told him seriously. “Just like I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted me to sleep on your couch tonight.”

Anders gaped at him at the offer. “My couch sucks,” he said dumbly.

He shrugged. “I’ve slept on worse.”

“Coffins?” he asked meanly, needing Mitchell to stop being so fucking _nice_.

“I wish,” the vampire joked. “So how about it? Let’s order a pizza and have a sleepover.”

Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to say yes. And why shouldn’t he? Mitchell didn’t want him, after all, so there was no ulterior motive in the offer.

Though the disappointment he felt at that was probably reason enough to say no. Still, the thought of spending the next sixteen hours _alone_ was enough to make up his mind.

“Fine, but don’t blame me if your back hates you in the morning.”

tbc…


	9. Chapter Nine

Anders stared at the television grumpily. He didn’t really have a reason to be sulking. He was currently curled up on one end of his couch, Mitchell lounging on the other side. They had polished off the pizza they had ordered and were now watching some mindless television show. With Mitchell next to him, he even felt _safe_.

Which was why he was sulking. He shouldn’t need an _alpha_ to feel safe. And he certainly shouldn’t want to close the space between them and curl into Mitchell’s side.

“So how does it work?” Mitchell asked, breaking him out of his brooding. He smiled at Anders’ confused look. “The whole mind-control thing?”

He frowned and looked back at the TV. “I already told you how it works,” he snapped irritably. 

“Yeah, but you didn’t tell me if you could use it to protect yourself,” the vampire said with a pointed look. “It’d ease my mind a bit knowing that if an alpha did try to force himself on you, you could make him stop.”

Anders sighed. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I never tried. I used Bragi to get the suppressants before anything ever happened. I mean, if I were in heat and someone tried to…” He cut himself off, not wanting to really finish that sentence. “I don’t think I could stop an alpha then.”

A touch to his hand startled him, and his head jerked over to look at Mitchell, who was suddenly a lot closer to him. He frowned, but didn’t pull his hand away when Mitchell’s.

“Why are you wearing fingerless gloves?” he asked instead, words coming out a lot less rude than he had intended. “It’s a warm night.”

He shrugged with a smile. “Poor circulation,” he told him. “Comes with barely having a heartbeat.”

Anders furrowed his brow. “Vampires have heartbeats?” he asked, genuinely curious.

“Barely,” Mitchell replied. “About one beat a minute. But we were talking about you.”

“I really don’t want to talk about me,” he ground out, looking away. “Especially if we’re talking about me being raped.”

“You’re _not_ going to be raped,” Mitchell growled vehemently, hand tightening on Anders’. 

He shifted closer to Anders, almost boxing him into the corner of the couch. The position should have made him feel trapped. Instead, he felt protected.

Which was a stupid thing to feel.

“You don’t know that,” he cried, standing up and pacing.

“I _do_ ,” Mitchell insisted, standing up as well and grabbing Anders by the shoulders. “First of all, most alphas can control themselves around omegas who aren’t in heat. More importantly, though, I’m not going to let anyone _touch_ you without your permission.”

Anders shook his head and jerked out of Mitchell’s hold, turning his back to him. “You can’t be with me all the time, John,” he reminded him coldly. Reminded _himself_ , really. “I’m going to bed.”

“Anders,” Mitchell called to him, causing him to hesitate. He reluctantly glanced behind him, heart stuttered a bit at the intensity of the vampire’s gaze. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he promised.

Anders held his gaze for a moment before turning away. “Good night, John.”

He went to bed with a heavy heart. Yes, Mitchell’s presence there reassured him, made him feel safe and secure, but Anders was smart enough to know that was just his omega hormones reacting to the alpha’s pheromones. And yes, maybe if he bonded with Mitchell, he really _would_ be safe but—

He blanched as he realized what he had just thought. When had bonding with Mitchell even crossed his mind? Bonding with _anyone_ wasn’t an option, but especially bonding with someone who had already told Anders he didn’t want him.

Anders closed his eyes forcefully, turning over in his bed and burrowing under the covers despite the warmth of the night. 

Didn’t his life already suck enough without thinking impossible thoughts? Besides, he told himself firmly. He didn’t want to be bonded to _any_ alpha.

Not even Mitchell.

 

#

 

Mitchell sighed as he sank onto the couch. He wished more than anything that he could set Anders’ mind at ease. He was sure a big part of the blond’s fear was based on his close call with an alpha during his first heat, but he had to wonder if there was something else fueling Anders’ fear that he didn’t know about.

He lay down on the couch in resignation, knowing that pressing Anders about it was useless. He just had to do everything he _could_ to assure the omega that he was safe.

And if Mitchell had to tear apart every alpha that dared to even _look_ at the blond, Anders _would_ be safe.

The hard part would be keeping the omega safe from _him_.

He hadn’t been able to resist questioning Anders about his god powers. In the back of his mind, he had hoped that Anders’ Bragi would be strong enough to stop him if Mitchell ever lost control. Anders’ answers, though, had been far from reassuring.

And he hadn’t even had the nerve to ask if his powers worked on other supernaturals. 

Not that it mattered, Mitchell told himself firmly, because he was _not_ going to lose control. He’d shove a stake into his own heart before he let himself hurt Anders.

That resolve, though, was put to the test the very next morning.

He noticed it as soon as he woke up, eyes snapping open as the scent reached the living room.

Fuck. Anders was in heat.

Mitchell was halfway to Anders’ bedroom before he even knew what was happening, instincts screaming at him to claim what was his. He stopped short at the door, hand shaking as it hovered over the doorknob. His head was spinning with the pheromones Anders was giving off, making it difficult to think.

Shit, how had it come on so quickly and without warning? Why hadn’t Mitchell _noticed_ it was coming? Maybe Anders didn’t have enough experience with his own heats to know, but Mitchell should have. He should have _smelled_ the subtle shifting.

It took everything he had to let his hand drop and to slowly back away from Anders’ door. The sweet scent was tempting. _Too_ tempting. Mitchell was sure the smell would haunt him for the rest of his days if he didn’t claim the blond _now_.

He growled and turned on his heel, holding his breath as he ran out of the house, making sure he locked the doors before running home, streaking past Annie’s questioning gaze to barricade himself in his room.

Safely behind his own door, he allowed himself to breathe again, shaking as he fought his desire to go back to Anders. Shit, he had left him alone. What if some asshole alpha smelled him from the street and broke in? Who knew if the crumbling house that Anders rented had scent-blockers in the insulation? What if Mitchell had saved Anders from himself but left him to the mercies of someone worse?

Mitchell fisted his hands in his hair as he paced his room, warring with both his crippling worry and his dizzying desire. Leaving had been his only option, he knew, but how could he have _left_?

“Mitchell?” Annie’s concerned voice called through the door. “Everything okay?”

He swallowed thickly. “Annie,” he said seriously, voice sounding choked to his own ears. “Whatever I say, whatever I _do_ , you cannot under any circumstances let me out of this room, okay?”

“Mitchell?” George’s voice joined hers, sounding puzzled. “What happened?”

“Anders is in heat,” he answered, closing his eyes in a vain attempt to block out the memory of his scent. “You two need to keep an eye on his house,” he pleaded. “Make sure no one break in and…”

He cut himself off with a strangle noise, seeing red at the thought of anyone claiming what was his. He flew away from the door to curl in on himself in the corner. Not his. Anders would _never_ be his because if he _tried_ to make him his, he would kill him.

He banged his head as hard as he could against the wall, needing the pain to distract himself from his instincts. He did it again when the first didn’t do much good. He felt a bit of blood trickle down his temple as he stared at the dent he made in the wall. Mitchell was relieved when the pain seemed to help.

“Mitchell!” Annie cried out, obviously having heard the noise and assumed the worst.

“I’m fine,” he slurred out, letting his head fall back against the wall with a _thunk_ and letting his eyes fall shut. “Just make sure Anders will be. Please.”

“We will,” she promised.

 

#

 

Anders felt like his skin was on fire. He frowned as he opened his eyes with a groan, wondering what was going on. Why was it so hot? It had been warm the night before, but nothing like this.

He kicked his covers off in frustration, gasping, though, as the fabric brushed against his skin. His eyes flew open as he realized what was happening, the all-consuming lust finally registering in his mind.

He sobbed as his hips thrust up of their own volition, his sopping wet entrance aching with emptiness. Fuck, it _hurt_. He had known that it would, but he had forgotten how fucking _much_ it hurt. How could being horny hurt this fucking much?

“John!” he cried, a little ashamed that a couple of minutes was all it took to destroy his pride. “John, _please_ ,” he begged, nearly sobbing after it became clear that Mitchell wasn’t coming.

Was he that fucking undesirable that the alpha wasn’t even tempted by his heat? He blinked back tears at the thought. Fuck, he just wanted it to end. How was he going to survive this?

He couldn’t. Fuck, this was going to kill him.

No, he decided with steely resolve. No, he was Anders fucking Johnson. He was the fucking king of sex. He wasn’t going to let being a little horny kill him.

He had prepared for this. He had toys built specifically for omegas that he always had on hand, just in case his suppressants failed. He could handle this.

Anders bit his lip as he slowly sat up, moaning pitifully as his sensitive hole pressed against the bed, the fabric of his sweatpants doing nothing to ease the pressure. He whimpered as he leaned over and pulled out the box hidden beneath his bed, gulping as he opened it to reveal the small array of dildos he kept for this specific purpose.

He grabbed the smallest one with trembling hands and took a deep breath as he shucked his clothes and lay back down on the bed.

He hadn’t let anything _near_ his entrance for _ten years_. He didn’t like having things shoved up his ass. It felt too… _good_ , if that made any sense. He had never trust any of his partners enough get lost in that much pleasure, and the pleasure had always overwhelmed him before he could finish when he was by himself.

He just hoped that that particular problem would be cured by his heat.

Anders bents his knees and spread his legs, canting his hips forward so that he could reach better. He kept his breath steady as he trailed a hand down, stifling a cry as he probed his entrance carefully with one finger. He bit his lip as he let the single digit sink in past the second knuckle, groaning as he crooked in experimentally and it grazed his prostate.

He grimaced as a flood of slick coated his finger, seeping out of his entrance onto the rest of his hand. He pulled his finger out in disgust, wiping his hand on his sheet in frustration. He couldn’t ease himself into this, he decided. He’d only end up thinking about what he was doing too much. He’d never get any relief that way.

He was rock hard and unpleasantly wet as he grabbed the dildo purposefully. Not letting himself think about it, he lined it up to his hole and shoved it in with one smooth, rough thrust.

Anders screamed as the dildo was buried deep within him, pressing against his prostate and causing more flood to seep out of him. He grabbed the base and thrust it in and out of himself, hips grinding up in order to meet the thrusts. His other hand came up to roughly stroke his achingly hard cock.

He gasped and shuddered as the pleasure crashed over him, so much that it threatened to drown him. His thrusts slowed and his hands stilled as the pleasure became so great that he could barely move.

Anders sobbed as he realized he couldn’t do it. Couldn’t finish himself off. He moved his hands half-heartedly, thrusting the dildo deep inside himself as he stroked his cock, twitching as the pleasure incapacitated him.

He abandoned his efforts with a cry of despair, trembling with his heat but unable to _do_ anything about it.

He was so fucking pathetic and useless.

John. He needed John. He’d beg him if he had to. Fuck, but he _needed_ him.

He fumbled for his phone on the nightstand, fingers still sticky with slick and pre-come but he didn’t care. It took him longer than it should have to unlock the damn thing and press the right buttons, but soon, the phone was ringing.

“Anders?” Mitchell’s frantic voice answered. “Are you okay?”

“John,” he managed to moan, the alpha’s voice alone causing his skin to feel even hotter. “Need you. Please.”

The vampire’s breath hitched, to Anders’ immense satisfaction. At least John wasn’t _entirely_ unaffected by him. “Anders,” he groaned. “I can’t.”

“Please, John,” he begged, rocking his hips down on the dildo still buried in his ass. “I can’t do it to myself. Need you.”

“Fuck, Anders, I _can’t_ ,” Mitchell moaned, sounding tortured. “I really, _really_ can’t. And you wouldn’t even be asking me to if you weren’t in heat.”

“Yes, I would,” he gasped out as the dildo hit his prostate. He reached down with his free hand to begin thrusting it shallowly, making sure it grazed his prostrate with each thrust. “Wanted you since I met you,” he moaned.

“Anders…” the vampire breathed heavily. “Are you…?”

“Yes,” he replied, crying out as he thrust the toy into him a little too harshly and shuddered with pleasure. “Wish it were you. Need it to be you. Please, John.”

There was a slight pause on the other end, and Anders sobbed with the thought that Mitchell had hung up. Thankfully, the vampire’s voice was back before he could sink too far into despair.

“Pretend it is me,” he whispered urgently. “Pretend it’s my cock slowly sinking into you, moving in and out so deliciously slow.” Anders bit his lip as he slowed his wild thrusting to match Mitchell’s words. “That’s it, Anders. How does it feel?”

“So fucking good,” he moaned, searing hot tears leaking out of his eyes as the pleasure threatened to overwhelm him once more. “John, I can’t…”

“Yes, you can,” Mitchell told him firmly, the certainty in his voice causing Anders to shudder. “I bet you’re trembling right now, thinking of my thick cock sliding in and out of you. Do you want more?”

“Fuck, yes, John,” he pleaded, spreading his legs wider.

“Then I’ll give you more,” he promised in a low voice. “You want me to thrust faster? To pound into your hole and make you mine?”

Anders cried out as he moved the dildo faster, putting more force behind each thrust.

“I bet you’re so wet for me right now,” John moaned. “So fucking open and ready for me.”

Anders realized with a start that Mitchell was getting off too, and he groaned at the thought, letting his thrust get wilder as he listened to John pleasure himself.

The pressure was building inside of him, threatening to crush him. “John, I’m going to…”

“Don’t stop, Anders,” Mitchell ordered. “Come for me, love.”

Anders came with an incoherent scream, surprised by the force of his own orgasm. His vision whited out for fuck knows how long, and when he finally could see again, all he could do was stare blankly at the ceiling as he shook and tried to breathe.

He only became truly aware of his surroundings again when Mitchell’s panicked cries began to reach him.

“—ders? Please, answer me. Are you okay? Anders?!?”

“‘M fine,” he slurred out, blinking heavily as he looked around for the vampire, tears falling from his eyes as he remembered that he wasn’t actually there. 

He wasn’t there because he didn’t _want_ Anders. The omega nearly laughed at the irony. Mitchell didn’t want him, but Anders had basically forced himself on him during his heat. Because that’s surely what had just happened. Mitchell had only played along because he knew how painful rejection could be for an omega in heat.

Fuck, he really was a terrible person.

“Anders?” Mitchell called again, voice full of concern.

Anders frowned. He must’ve zoned out again. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Tired. Thanks.”

“Anders—”

He hung up before Mitchell could get another word in. He curled in on himself, not caring about the soiled sheets as he trembled, suddenly cold. He glanced at the blankets on the floor, but decided the effort wouldn’t be worth it. For now, he had a respite from the heat. It was better that he just slept now, knowing that in a couple of hours, his skin would be on fire once more.

And next time, he wouldn’t have Mitchell’s help to ease the pain.

tbc…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm not sure how this turned out. Let me know what you think!


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not super thrilled with how this chapter came out, but the story needs to move on a bit haha. Hope you enjoy!

Anders woke up some time later feeling achy and shaky, but not horny like he expected. He frowned as he sat up, hissing as the dildo still inside him was jostled unpleasantly. He quickly reached down and jerked it out, biting his lip as it tugged the rim of his abused hole. He threw the toy aside, not really caring where it landed.

He stood cautiously and crept slowly to the bathroom, legs feeling like they were barely supporting him as he tried not to think about what had happened. Instead, he focused on why exactly he didn’t seem to be in heat anymore.

Maybe it was the suppressants, he guessed as he stepped into the shower, groaning as the hot water in his clammy skin. Maybe they had screwed up his heat cycle so much that, from now on, he would just get short heats that were over as suddenly as they came. Or maybe his body was trying to regulate itself, easing him into a more normal cycle.

Or, he thought with trepidation, maybe his body was preparing him for a heat that was longer and more intense than normal. After all, he had gone ten years without one. Maybe he’d have to get ten years’ worth of stored up heat time out of the way before he could get anywhere near normal.

Anders _knew_ it was a ridiculous thought. Heats were like credits in school that you had to catch up on in order to graduate or something stupid like that, but it still _scared_ him.

To his horror, he felt tears prick at his eyes, and he growled in frustration as he wiped them away roughly. Great, his favorite part of the whole heat experience was starting. The part were his out-of-whack hormones decided to make him a weepy idiot.

Fucking perfect.

He could only hope that since his heat was short, this would pass quickly too. He doubted he was that lucky though.

He finished showering, drying off carefully before padding into his bedroom to throw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. He grabbed this duvet from the floor and dragged it into the living room, curling up on the couch and wrapping himself up tightly.

He stared at the television remote, sitting not one foot away on the second-hand, stained coffee table, but couldn’t motivate himself to lean forward slightly to grab it. He squeezed his eyes closed, feeling like his entire world was crumbling.

Fuck, how pathetic was he that he couldn’t even summon the will to turn on the fucking TV? He pulled his knees up to his chest and growled in frustration. He was fucking useless.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop memories from this morning from seeping into his mind. He whimpered and ground his forehead roughly into his right knee. Not only was he useless, but he was fucking selfish too. He basically forced Mitchell to have phone sex with him. For someone who was so concerned about not being forced to do anything sexual against his will, he was pretty fucking hypocritical. 

“Anders?” a hesitant call from the kitchen caused him to jerk violently, letting out a choked sound of fear. “Anders?” the voice called again. This time, though, Anders was able to identify who it belonged to a second before Annie appeared in the door behind him.

“Annie?” he croaked, staring at her in confusion. “How’d you get in?” He assumed that Mitchell, even if he hadn’t wanted Anders himself, at least cared enough to lock the doors to keep out any alphas that might have tried to take advantage of his heat.

She gave him a sheepish smile and came closer. “I’m a ghost,” she replied simply before frowning down at him. “Mitchell asked me to come check on you to make sure you had food and water within reach during your heat, but you’re not in heat…”

“I was,” Anders replied miserably, leaning his head against his knees once more. “It’s over now.”

Her brow furrowed in confusion. “It didn’t even last a day…”

He shrugged. “I think it’s my body coming off the suppressants. I’m not really sure…” he trailed off as a wave of worry and despair threatened to engulf, and he forcefully swallowed back the tears that had suddenly appeared in his eyes. “I’m not really sure what’s going on,” Anders finished in a strangled voice.

Annie was quiet for a moment before laying a hand on Anders’ shoulder. Or at least it _looked_ like she did. Anders could see the hand there, but he couldn’t _feel_ it.

“I’m going to get Mitchell,” she told him, turning to leave.

“No!” he cried vehemently, head snapping up as he instinctively reached a hand out to stop her. Of course, because she was a ghost, his hand went right through her arm. She gave him a startled look. He felt hateful tears sting his eyes again, and quickly turned his head so she wouldn’t see.

Fuck, why did he have to be so fucking _weepy_?

“Don’t get John,” he mumbled, determined to at least do this _one_ fucking unselfish thing. “He has better things to do than babysit me,” he added bitterly.

Silence was all the answer he got. After he stretched on a bit, he dared a peek up at her, just to make sure she hadn’t let. She was still there, but she was giving him a searching look that he didn’t particularly care for.

“I’m getting Mitchell,” she declared finally, disappearing from the one. Not walking out of the room. _Disappearing_.

To his shame, Anders fucking _sobbed_ in dismay. Great, now he was going to be forced onto Mitchell _again_. At least this time, it wasn’t going to be _his_ doing, but still. He couldn’t even do _one_ fucking nice thing.

It wasn’t very surprising, considering what a fucking horrible person he was. Even when he tried to be unselfish, it ended selfishly.

 

#

 

Mitchell had just stepped out of the shower when the irate ghost startled him. He made a rather unmanly sound as he quickly slung a towel around his waist, staring at Annie in shock.

“John Mitchell, get your stupid alpha ass over to Anders’ _right now_ and tell him that there’s nothing more important to you than him!” she ordered, a stern look on her face as she wagged her index finger at him.

He staggered back at that. “I can’t _do_ that, Annie,” he sputtered. “He’s in _heat_! I can’t go over _now_ …”

She waved that off. “He’s not in heat right now,” she told him. “And he’s crashing hard, by the way,” she added, glaring at him.

“That’s not _my_ fault!” he cried, affronted but also extremely worried about the blond omega. “Is he okay? Why is his heat over already?”

“He thinks it’s just the suppressants throwing his system out of whack,” she replied dismissively. “The _point_ is that he’s over there in a spiraling depression believing that you have better things to do than be with him.”

“That’s ridiculous!” he protested hotly. “I _love_ him!”

His jaw snapped shut at the inadvertent admission. Shit. He hadn’t even known that he was in love with the omega until this moment. Fuck, how could he have let this happen? Falling in love with Anders put him in way too much danger.

Annie just smirked at him in satisfaction. “Don’t tell me that. Tell _him_.”

“I _can’t_ ,” he whispered, pained at the admission. “I can’t tell him that. It’ll either drive him away or give him false hope.”

“No, it’ll keep him from sinking further into a rejection-fueled depression,” she argued, glaring at him again in full force. “Mitchell, you _know_ what rejection does to omegas. Even if Anders doesn’t want to admit it, he’s obviously attracted to you. And the fact that you ran away from him when he was in heat… it probably hit him hard.”

Mitchell felt awful. “But I couldn’t _stay_ ,” he growled in frustration. “If I did…”

“I know,” she said gently. “But _he_ doesn’t.”

She glided out of the bathroom at that, leaving Mitchell still dripping wet and feeling like the worst person in the world.

Deciding he had to get to Anders, he quickly got dressed and was out the door as quick as he could. He opened Anders’ kitchen door cautiously, half afraid that there would still be a lingering smell of heat that would drive him into a frenzy.

Though there was still a faint, stale scent that hinted at Anders’ condition this morning, it was barely enough to even register in Mitchell’s mind. If he hadn’t been a vampire, he wouldn’t have even noticed it.

Feeling more secure, he crept further into the house. “Anders?”

A whimper reached his ear, coming from the living room. He rushed in to see Anders curled up tightly on the couch, wrapped in a blanket.

“I told Annie not to get you,” the blond told him sullenly, 

“So she said,” he said, keeping his voice light as he dropped onto the couch next to Anders and slung a casual arm around his shoulders. The blond tensed under his touch for a moment. “She also said you had the crazy idea that I had somewhere better to be than right here.”

“Fuck, John, I know you don’t want me, okay?” Anders snapped, trying to shrug off his arm. “You made that perfectly clear.”

“I most certainly did not!” Mitchell cried, scandalized, resolutely keeping his arm around Anders. “Why would I say something stupid like that?”

The blond glared at him. “Cut the shit, John. Don’t try to make me feel better just because my fucking hormones are making me cry like a little bitch,” he growled. “You fucking _told me_ that you wouldn’t help me with my heat even if I asked. And if an alpha doesn’t want an omega in heat, he must find the omega really fucking disgusting.”

Mitchell grabbed Anders’ shoulders with both hands and whirled him around to face him. Anders’wide blue eyes filled with shock at the motion. “I am a _vampire_ , Anders,” he hissed. “Do you know what happened to the last two people I tried to have sex with? I _killed_ them,” he said, not giving Anders an opportunity guess. “Drained them dry before I could stop myself. I can’t let that happen to you.”

“What?” Anders asked, confusion written on his face.

“Anders, I care about you very much,” he told him, not wanting to use the word _love_ and overwhelm the blond. “But I can’t be with you because—”

“You think you’d kill me,” he finished for him, frowning.

“I can’t hurt you, Anders,” Mitchell sighed, bringing a hand up to cup the blond’s face gently. “I _won’t_.”

To his surprise, Anders’ eyes filled with tears. The blond jerked his head away as he brought his hands up to scrub at his eyes roughly. “Sorry,” Anders said, irritation heavy in his voice. “Fucking hormones.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said, pulling him gently into his arms. “I’ve got you.”

Anders sniffled. “Does that mean I don’t have to apologize for forcing phone sex on you this morning?” he muttered.

“You _definitely_ don’t have to apologize for that,” Mitchell replied, shivering at the memory of Anders’ desperate pants as he pleasured himself. He had felt so guilty, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself from getting off on it.

“I can’t go through it alone again,” Anders muttered, burying his face in the crook of Mitchell’s neck. “I can’t do it. I thought I could but I _can’t_.”

“Yes, you can,” he told him, pulling him closer. “You’re so strong, Anders.”

He shook his head. “John, I _can’t_ ,” he whined, pressing even closer to the vampire. 

“You got through this one,” Mitchell pointed out encouragingly.

“Only with your help,” Anders pointed out miserably. “And I don’t know if that would work again.”

“Then we’ll find you someone to help you out,” he suggested, balking at the idea of Anders having sex with anyone else, but not knowing what else he _could_ suggest.

“No,” the blond replied bitterly with a shake of his head. “I can’t trust an alpha that much. What if he…?”

Mitchell wanted to snarl and tell him that he would _never_ let anyone bond him against his will, but if some other alpha were to help Anders through his heat, Mitchell wouldn’t be able to be anywhere near the two.

Mostly because he would tear the alpha limb from limb for daring to touch Anders, even with the blond’s permission.

“You can’t go back on the suppressants,” he begged instead, unable to bear the thought of Anders dying from those damn things.

“John, the heats are going to get _worse_ ,” Anders whimpered. “And they’re going to last longer. And I can’t do it. I _can’t_.”

The omega was sobbing and clinging to him desperately now, and all Mitchell could really do was hold him through his tears. He had never hated being a vampire anymore than he did in that moment. He hadn’t thought anything could be worse than the realization that he had lost control and people had died because of him, but watching the man he love sob in anguish without being able to do anything was.

 

#

 

Knowing Mitchell didn’t find him repulsive and even had some kind of feelings for him made him feel a bit better, but he still hated the fact that he had all but crawled into the vampire’s lap and bawled like a fucking baby. 

He must have actually cried himself to sleep like a pathetic asshole because the next thing he knew, Mitchell was shaking his shoulder lightly as he loomed over him with a soft smile. “You need to eat.”

Anders groaned and rolled over, burying his face into the back of the couch. “Don’t wanna,” he sulked, not really ready to face the alpha after having made a fool out of himself with his fucking emotions. Thankfully, he was feeling much less weepy now.

“You haven’t eaten all day,” Mitchell pointed out, sitting down on the edge of the cushion Anders was lying on and placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m not hungry,” he mumbled, hating that the touch made him feel calmer. 

“Please?” the alpha asked. Anders scowled to himself at the tone. It was so fucking… ugh. It was like he was asking Anders to do some great favor for him instead of just asking him to fucking eat his food like a fucking adult.

He sat up and glared at Mitchell, snatching the sandwich off the plate in his hand and wolfing it down spitefully. The vampire just watched him in quiet amusement before offering him a bottle of water. Anders narrowed his eyes as he took it from him, gulping down half the bottle before glaring at him.

“Happy?” he snapped grumpily.

“Yeah, I am actually,” Mitchell replied with a smile, smoothly sliding in between Anders and the back of the couch and pulling the omega into his arms.

The blond didn’t bother resisting, turning into the embrace almost automatically and tucking his head under Mitchell’s chin. By the time he realized what he had done, it was really too late to argue about cuddling, especially when he really didn’t want to.

He scowled again. He couldn’t get this attached to Mitchell. The vampire could already get him to eat apparently by just putting a slightly pitiful note in his voice. If Anders let him worm further into his heart, he’d probably be able to convince him to not go back on the suppressants.

“Did you mean it?” Mitchell asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

Anders frowned in confusion. “Mean what?”

The vampire craned his neck to look at him. “When you were in heat and called me,” he began sheepishly, as if loathed to bring it up. “You said you wanted me before. Ever since we met.”

He looked away, embarrassed at the reminder of the pathetic person he became during heat. Still, Mitchell had been honest with him and told him that he wanted him. That he _cared_ for him. The least Anders could do was be honest in return.

“I tried not to,” he replied with a sigh, still not looking at Mitchell. “But I was attracted to you from the beginning, and then you had to be all stupid and nice without the ulterior motive of getting into my pants, so it was kinda hard not to…”

Anders let himself trail off at that, nowhere near willing to go where that sentence led. He was pathetic, but not _that_ pathetic.

Mitchell surprised him by brushing a kiss to his temple. He started at the unfamiliar tender gesture before sighing, leaning further into the vampire’s arms.

Very pathetic, he decided.

“This can’t work,” Mitchell said in a pained voice. “You need someone who can take care of you.” 

The “during heat” part went unsaid, but it was lying heavy over them anyway. The idea of someone else touching him, though, some other _alpha_ touching him, repulsed him.

“I’m going back on the suppressants,” he stated, looking up at Mitchell and daring him to argue.

“If you care about me at all, you won’t make me watch you die like that,” the vampire begged.

Anders sat up and glared at him. “Don’t you _dare_ try to emotionally blackmail me like that, John,” he snapped, the statement sounding a little too much like the things his brothers used to say.

_If you cared about this family at all, you’d do this for us._

_If you loved your brother, you wouldn’t be arguing._

_If you don’t do this, you’re a terrible brother._

_If you don’t want Mike to die, you’ll let Colin rape you._

He _knew_ it wasn’t the same, but it felt the same and he _hated_ it.

“It’s not fair,” he added shakily, looking down at his trembling hands. “If _you_ cared about _me_ , you wouldn’t want me to suffer like I do during heats.”

Mitchell at least had the decency to look ashamed as he sat up as well. “You’re right. That was unfair of me,” he murmured, taking Anders’ shaking hands in his gloved ones. “And I do care about you, Anders. I care about you so much that I want to find a solution where you don’t suffer and I don’t watch you die, but you have to give me some time. Please.”

It really wasn’t fucking fair that Mitchell was looking at him like that when he was asking something like that of him. How the fuck was he supposed to say no?

“One week,” he said finally, giving the vampire a warning look. Mitchell looked like he was going to argue, so Anders put a finger to his mouth to stop him. “I don’t know when the next heat is going to hit, John,” he explained, pleading with him to understand. “This one came on so suddenly and was so short that I can’t predict them.”

Mitchell didn’t look particularly happy, but he nodded. “Okay. One week. I’ll think of something, I promise.”

Anders wasn’t sure if Mitchell could actually keep that promise, but he settled back down on the couch with him anyway.

It wasn’t that he wanted to die, especially not now that he found Mitchell, it was just that he had had a small taste of what heat was like, and he knew that he couldn’t go through that on his own again.

And if that meant breaking Mitchell’s heart, well, it was just further confirmation about how selfish Anders really was.

tbc…


	11. Chapter Eleven

Anders blinked open his eyes and frowned. He didn’t remember falling asleep again. He lifted his head slightly to look out the window, letting his head fall back onto the couch with groan as he saw the dark sky. He had slept most of the day, it seemed.

He frowned. Something was missing. His frown morphed into a scowl as he recalled that, last he remembered, Mitchell’s arms had been wrapped tightly around him. He wasn’t sure if he was more annoyed at missing the arms or for Mitchell being gone, which only made him _more_ annoyed.

“I see you’ve finally woken up,” Mitchell’s voice startled him. He craned his head to look over the armrest of the couch to see the vampire leaning against the doorframe. He had that brooding look on his face again, Anders noted. “I’ve made chicken parmesan. It’s not the greatest thing in the world, but it’s passable.”

“Since when do I have the ingredients in my kitchen for chicken parmesan?” he asked, ignoring how Mitchell’s presence instantly soothed him. He was fairly certain he hadn’t gotten to the store in about a week, so his cupboards were probably getting pretty bare.

Mitchell shrugged. “I may or may not have gotten George to buy some groceries for you. Do you want to eat out here or at the table?”

“You mean do I want to eat on the lumpy couch or the wobbly card table?” Anders said sardonically, sitting up and swinging his legs off the couch. “Jeez, it’s a hard choice.”

“It’s your furniture,” the vampire reminded him in an amused tone. “Don’t blame me for your bad taste.”

Anders scowled. “This is _not_ my taste,” he snapped sullenly. He looked around the shabby living room in disgust. “This is the taste of a man who had his entire world taken from him,” he continued bitterly, hating the tears forming in his eyes. Fuck, his heat this morning had barely lasted an hour. Why was he still hormonal?

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Mitchell murmured, at his side in an instant and pulling him into his arms.

“Don’t apologize, dammit,” Anders growled, angry at himself for being so fucking emotional. “I am _not_ this pathetic person,” he muttered.

“You are _not_ pathetic,” the vampire argued, pulling back to look him in the eye. “You’re just a little down on your luck.”

Anders snorted humorlessly at that. “A _little_ down on my luck?” he said incredulously. “I think I passed ‘a little down on my luck’ a long time ago.” He shook his head and stood, the vampire frowning but standing as well. “Whatever. Let’s eat.”

Mitchell looked like he wanted to argue, but Anders was glad he didn’t. This day had been shit enough without dragging up his shitty past.

“I called in sick for the both of us this morning,” Mitchell told him after they were settled at the table with their food. He gave Anders a sheepish smile. “I’m pretty sure that the entire hospital is going to assume I’m helping you through your heat.”

He rolled his eyes and stabbed at a piece of chicken. “As territorial as you were yesterday, I’m pretty sure none of them will be surprised.”

“They’ll be surprised when we’re back tomorrow,” he pointed out. “You should probably talk to your boss about that.”

Anders made a face at that. He _really_ didn’t want to discuss his heat problems with his boss. He would just use Bragi to make his boss question him when and if his heat took him unexpectedly, he decided. Anything to save him from that embarrassing conversation. Then again… “That won’t be a problem if I go back on the suppressants.”

Mitchell frowned at that. “You _aren’t_ going back on the suppressants,” he said firmly.

He glared at the vampire. “John, we talked about this.”

“And you gave me a week to come up with a solution,” he shot back. “And I think I have.”

Anders blinked in surprise. “That was quick.”

“Well, it’s not a _great_ solution,” Mitchell admitted ruefully. “But I think it’ll work.”

“Think?” he asked incredulously. “Aren’t you afraid of killing me? I’m not sure _thinking_ your plan will work is good enough.”

The vampire scowled. “I would _never_ risk your life.”

Anders rolled his eyes. “No shit,” he retorted, swirling a piece of bread in the leftover sauce on his plate. “You freaking out over the stupid suppressants was enough to clue me in on that. So why say you _think_ it will work?”

“Okay, so as a vampire I don’t technically have to breathe,” Mitchell began.

“Oh really?” Anders couldn’t resist leering. He blinked when the alpha just grinned wolfishly at him.

“Exactly.”

“Wait, what?”

“If I just don’t breathe while you’re in heat, your pheromones won’t make me lose control,” he explained.

“So you’d be able to fuck me without draining me dry?” Anders asked, wondering why such a simple solution hadn’t occurred to the vampire before.

Mitchell shook his head. “No. But I’d be able to take care of you. With my fingers, mouth, toys, whatever you need.”

Pure lust shot down his spine and to his groin as an image of Mitchell sucking him off as he stuffed his ass full flashed through his mind, and he groaned. “Fuck, John… Are you sure?”

“I’ve only ever lost control and bitten a partner when I’m climaxed. Trust me, I can get you off without killing you,” he replied with smirk. “As long as you don’t mind me being mostly silent. Talking takes air, you know.”

Anders shook his head “No, I mean…” he bit his lip uncertainly. “Are you sure you’re okay with that? It doesn’t seem fair to you…”

Call him a selfish prick and a wanton slut all you wanted, but Anders _never_ left his bed partners unsatisfied. The idea of doing so with Mitchell, someone he actually, well, _cared_ about… It didn’t sit right with him.

Mitchell rolled his eyes. “It’s not about what’s fair to _me_ ,” he said dismissively. “It’s about making your heats bearable. But if you’re not comfortable with me helping you…”

“John, you’re pretty much the only person in the world I trust completely right now,” he scoffed. He snorted derisively. “You’re probably the only one I’ve ever really trusted.”

And wasn’t that a sad statement about his life.

“I’m glad you trust me,” Mitchell told him earnestly, moving around the table to crouch by Anders’ side and gently taking his hand. “I promise I won’t betray that trust.”

He stared at Mitchell’s sincere brown eyes, a lump of emotion threatening to choke him. His mind was telling him that he was a fucking idiot to trust that this _alpha_ wouldn’t hurt him just like every other person who was supposed to care about him had. But his stupid heart wouldn’t listen.

Fuck, he realized with a start. He had actually gone and fallen in _love_ with the stupid vampire!

He tore his eyes away, eyes stinging with tears. When the fuck had he become such a fucking sad sap of an omega?!?

“Anders,” Mitchell murmured, shifting closer and bringing a hand up to cup his cheek, his ridiculous fingerless gloves catching on the day-old stubble on Anders’ face.

A tear escaped from his eye, but before he could scrub it away furiously, Mitchell’s thumb wiped it away with a gentle swipe. He didn’t even know what the fuck he was feeling anymore. He should be _happy_ that he loved a man who obviously cared about him too. So why the hell was he _crying_?

Without even meaning to, he slid out of his chair and into the vampire’s arms. Mitchell looked a bit surprised to have his arms suddenly full of omega, but held him close anyway. Unable to stop himself, Anders closed the gap between their mouths.

The kiss was tentative at first, Anders not entirely sure if it would be welcome despite everything Mitchell was offering him, but the vampire soon moaned and took control, kissing Anders in a way he had never felt before.

He trembled in the alpha’s arms and pressed closer to him, his senses suddenly filled with Mitchell and Mitchell alone. Fuck, he felt dizzy with pleasure, the kiss someone making him feel like some inexperienced virgin. 

He whined when Mitchell jerked away and blinked up at him blearily, confused at the panicked look in the alpha’s eye. He whimpered, hips moving of their own accord to grind against Mitchell’s thigh. He felt overly hot, and the unpleasant wet feeling in his boxers made him winkle his nose in distaste, but he didn’t let any of that deter him.

“Anders,” Mitchell said, voice tight and serious. “You’re going into heat.”

“No,” he denied breathlessly, arching against the vampire. “Just had a heat.”

“An incomplete one,” he pointed out, placing both hands on Anders’ shoulder and pushing him back to hold him at arms length. Anders whined again. “Anders, are you sure?”

“John, _please_ ,” he begged, his entrance now leaking profusely and feeling so achingly empty. He was burning up, and he knew it would only get worse if he didn’t get relief soon. “Need you so much.”

“Shh,” Mitchell soothed, standing and pulling him up as well. Anders tried to stand on his own, he really did, but his legs felt like jelly and he all but fell into the vampire. He gasped as his hips were suddenly hitched, allowing him to wrap his legs around the alpha’s waist. He moaned deep in his throat as he felt Mitchell’s arousal press against his ass.

“I’ve got you,” the vampire murmured as he carefully carried him to the bedroom and lay him onto the bed. Mitchell stripped him efficiently, leaving him bare on the bed.

“John,” he moaned, spreading his legs wide and canting his hips. He ached to have the cock he could see straining the vampire’s jeans buried deep inside him. He vaguely knew that it was a bad idea, but he was fairly certain he was going to die if he wasn’t filled soon.

He reached weakly towards the alpha’s fly, but Mitchell batted his hands away with a stern shake of his head before kneeling between Anders’ splayed legs. The blond barely had a time to prepare himself before his own cock was swallowed down without warning while two fingers slid easily into his ass.

“ _John!_ ” he screamed, body convulsing as overwhelming pleasure washed over him. The vampire didn’t let up, throat tight around his cock as his fingers were buried themselves deep inside him.

Mitchell had added a third finger before he changed the angle so that his fingers were massaging Anders’ prostate.

Anders gave a wordless cry of pleasure as he shook apart under the vampire, blacking out as he came harder than he ever had in his life.

He was alone when he finally came to, shivering despite the warmth of the night. He gave a soft wail, feeling abandoned, but before he could sink into despair, Mitchell was at his side, whispering words of praise and love as he gently wiped away the sticky mess covering his lower half before bundling him in the blankets that had been carelessly tossed on the floor.

As he realized what had happened, shame and self-loathing welled inside of him, sobs soon wracking his body as he clung to Mitchell. He was an awful omega who couldn’t even please his alpha. How could he just _take_ like that without giving John anything in return? Who did that to someone they loved?

“Anders, love, please, it’s okay,” Mitchell tried to soothe, but his words just made it worse. “You’re okay.”

No, he wasn’t. He was disgusting and pathetic.

“I’m sorry,” he sobbed, incapable of keeping his stupid mouth shut. “Fuck, I basically just blackmailed you into giving me a fucking blowjob by saying I’d kill myself if you didn’t.”

“Hey, no!” Mitchell denied vehemently, pulling back to look at Anders with horrified eyes. “ _No_. None of that was you forcing me to do anything. Trust me, I enjoyed it as much as you did.”

He snorted without humor. “I doubt it.”

“You said you trusted me, right?” the vampire said, trying a different tactic. Anders nodded warily. “Then trust me when I say I enjoyed it. That’s why I disappeared so quickly. I had to get away before a came and lost control.”

Anders frowned. “ _I_ should have made you come,” he replied grumpily.

“You did,” Mitchell assured him with a lascivious smirk. “And don’t feel guilty about anything. Did _you_ enjoy it?”

He rolled his eyes. “I think it’s pretty fucking clear that I did.”

“Good,” he said in satisfaction. “So is this a workable solution?”

He bit his lip. While this heat had been pleasurable rather than painful, he still wasn’t completely happy. No matter what Mitchell told him, his body was telling him he was a failure for not pleasuring his alpha in return.

Which was stupid, he knew, because Mitchell wasn’t even _his_ alpha.

He looked up at Mitchell’s hopeful face and sighed, leaning into the vampire’s embrace and knowing that he couldn’t disappoint him. Not when Mitchell was being so good to him. Besides, it _was_ a good solution for the physical effects of his heat.

He would just have to suck it up when it came to the emotional baggage that came alone with them.

“Yeah. It’ll work.”

tbc…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my best chapter, but I had to get something down so that the writer's block would go away! Hope you enjoyed!


	12. Chapter Twelve

Anders had two more small heats by the time the weekend came. He was very grateful that Mitchell was there to help him through them. Hell, they may have even been _enjoyable_ if it hadn’t been for the shame that roiled in his belly afterwards.

He had spent all of Saturday and Sunday in a post-heat funk. Mitchell was patient with him, the arsehole, no matter how many times Anders snapped at him. Fucker made him feel any _more_ guilty.

So when Anders woke up Monday morning, in a bed with fresh sheets thanks to Mitchell and wrapped tightly in the cool arms of the vampire, he was determined to make it up to him _somehow_.

He twisted out of the arms, smiling a bit at the groan of protest the alpha made in his sleep. He tossed the covers off of both of them before sliding down the bed. He peeked up to make sure Mitchell hadn’t woken, and smirked as he carefully pulled down the vampire’s sweatpants and boxers to pull out his cock.

Mitchell was soft when Anders first wrapped his lips around the tip, but it only took a couple swipes of Anders’ tongue against his slit for him to harden in his mouth. He bobbed his head as he sucked, bringing his hand up to stroke the bit he couldn’t fit in his mouth, using his spit as lubricant.

The vampire moaned as he woke up, and gasped when he looked down to see Anders between his legs, his dark eyes full of fear. “Anders, no. You can’t. I’ll—ah!” he broke off with a cry as Anders gave him a particularly forceful suck before pulling back slightly.

“You can’t bite me from all the way up there,” he told him with a raised brow. “Now lie back and be a good vampire.”

Mitchell opened his mouth to protest, but Anders didn’t give him time to before he was on him once more.

Satisfaction welled within him as the alpha was soon reduced to a panting mess. The thought that he was probably the first person to actually touch Mitchell in a who knows how long, and a possessive part of him that he hadn’t know existed purred and spurred him on, as if to convince Mitchell that he was the _only_ one who should _ever_ touch him

He didn’t have time to dwell on that as Mitchell tensed, gasping out a quick warning that Anders ignored as he swallowed down everything that the vampire gave him.

Anders smirked as he was hauled up by the alpha and into a searing kiss.

“So I figure if I keep far enough from your fangs, I can get you off without you draining me dry,” he stated proudly as the kiss broke.

“Oh, I’m going to drain you dry alright,” Mitchell leered, hand sneaking down to grope Anders’ erection.

He rolled his eyes and batted his hand away. “No,” he said. “I think you’ve made me come enough these past few days.”

“Trust me,” the vampire insisted, hand slipping inside Anders sleep pants to wrap around his arousal. “This is my genuine pleasure.”

It was hard to argue with him when he was stroking his dick so nicely. Anders groaned as Mitchell lowered his head to worry at a patch of skin right beneath his ear. His hips began moving without his permission, fucking into Mitchell’s hand as the pleasure mounted within him.

“John,” he gasped as he came. He sank bonelessly into the bed and gazed at the vampire in confused wonder. He felt… satisfied wasn’t the right word. Content? Happy? It was weird, but this was the first time that sex actually felt _right_ , something that meant more than a way to forget it or a means for Mitchell to keep him from the suppressants.

“I love you,” the words slipped out before he could stop them, and he instantly wished he could take them back. Fuck, that was stupid. Hadn’t he learned his lesson about letting people know how much he cared? He had done that with his family and look where that had gotten him.

Mitchell was different, he told himself firmly. Mitchell had done nothing but try to protect him since he met him.

And he believed the vampire when he gave him a soft smile and whispered, “I love you too,” and captured his lips in a tender kiss.

It hurt knowing that this alpha would never be _his_ alpha, even if he had never _wanted_ an alpha before meeting Mitchell.

His life had always been so fucking ironic.

 

#

 

They both went back to work on Tuesday, having taken Monday off to ensure that the short, sporadic heats Anders had been having were over. Mitchell didn’t want to take any chances of the omega going into heat at work. Not that he thought anyone particular at the hospital was a threat, but he didn’t know that they weren’t and he definitely didn’t want to risk it.

“You know, I’m pretty sure your scent all over me already screams ‘Property of John Mitchell,’” Anders told him with a roll of his eyes as they walked towards marketing. “You don’t have to loom over me to get people to back off.”

“Maybe I just like being close to you,” he replied, stepping even closer as they turned a corner into a more secluded hallway and nuzzling his neck obnoxiously. He laughed when Anders shoved him away with a scowl.

“Prick,” he muttered, but Mitchell saw the smile that was playing at the corners of his mouth.

A female beta Mitchell vaguely recognized as working with Anders rounded the corner with a stack of papers looking a bit frazzled and would have ran into them if Mitchell hadn’t deftly steered them out of the way.

“I’m _so_ sorry,” she apologized profusely, looking up from her papers with wide eyes. “Oh, Anders, we weren’t sure if you were coming in today,” she said as she noticed who she had nearly bowled over. “There’s a man waiting for you in your office. He came by yesterday and waited around for a bit, but left when it became clear that you weren’t showing up,” the beta prattled on, oblivious of how tense Anders had become.

“Thanks, Laura,” he bit out, giving her a smile that looked more like a grimace. She gave them a little wave goodbye before disappearing into a door a little ways down the hall. As soon as she was out of sight, Anders spun on his heels and started heading in the opposite direction.

It took Mitchell a moment to realize that he was leaving.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” he asked as he quickly caught up to the shorter man.

“Home,” the blond replied. “And then Italy. Or Russia. Maybe America. I haven’t decided yet.”

“What?!” Mitchell cried, panicked at the thought of Anders leaving. He jumped in front of Anders to stop him in his tracks, grabbing his shoulders and making him face him. “Talk to me, Anders. Tell me what’s wrong.”

There was terror lurking in Anders’ blue eyes, and worry welled within Mitchell, along with a fierce protective rage at whoever had put it there.

“Is it the man in your office?” he pressed, darting a glance towards the marketing department, as if whoever it was would be there. “Who is it?”

Anders shook his head. “I don’t know,” he admitted in a small voice. “I have an idea, but… Mitchell, they _can’t_ find me.”

The vampire considered the blond for a moment before nodding. “Right, wait here,” he said, striding confidently towards the marketing department.

“John, _wait_!” Anders hissed, but he stayed put. Whoever could be in his office scared him, that much was obvious.

Mitchell didn’t slow down until he reached Anders office, frowning at the dark-haired beta that was standing near the window, shifting his weight anxiously. He pasted on a casual mask and lazily knocked on the door, causing the man to look at him with icy blue eyes.

“Have you seen Anders around?” he inquired politely.

The beta gave him a polite smile and shook his head. “Sorry, he hasn’t come in yet.”

Mitchell immediately recognized the accent and barely held back a snarl. Who the fuck had followed Anders from New Zealand and, more importantly, _why_?

He gave the man an affable smile. “Thanks, mate, could you tell him I stopped by if you see him? John Mitchell, by the way. And you are…?”

“Ty Johnson,” he replied, not the least bit suspicious. “And I’ll let him know.”

“Ta!” he said, waving cheerfully as he walked away. As soon as his back was to the beta, a thundercloud passed over his face. Anders’ brother. Had to be. The question was, why was he here?

Anders was waiting for him right where he left him. Mitchell’s heart ached at how lost and afraid he looked. “Who is it?” he asked in fright.

“Says his name is Ty Johnson,” he answered, sliding an arm around him in support. “What do you want to do? Do you want to leave?”

The omega bit his lip for a moment before slowly shaking his head. “No,” he said. “If it’s Ty, I might be able to convince him to leave me alone.”

“Are you sure?” Mitchell asked, mostly because Anders looked anything _but_ sure. “If you want to run, we can run.”

Anders’ head snapped up to look at him, shock in his eyes. “ _We_?”

“Yes, _we_ ,” he repeated, holding his gaze. “If you want to leave the country, I’ll be right there with you for as long as you want me.”

It would be difficult, he knew. The Council would see his leaving the UK as defiance, and may even put a bounty on his head. Even if they didn’t, there was no way he’d be able to get a supply of blood in another country without their help, which they would never give. 

It didn’t matter, though. He’d face any obstacles for Anders.

“I can’t let you do that,” Anders said in pained voice, looking away. “You have an entire life here. You have George and Annie. Your _family_. You can’t leave them.”

“I will. For you,” he insisted.

“John…”

“No, Anders,” Mitchell said, bringing his hands up to cup the blond’s face gently. “I love you, and you are the most important thing in my world. I will give up _anything_ for you.”

Anders gulped, eyes watering with emotion. “I won’t ask you to.”

“You don’t have to,” he promised, leaning his forehead against Anders’.

The blond took a shuddering breath before his eyes went steely with resolve. “I’m going to speak with Ty. If he can’t see reason, then we run.”

Mitchell nodded. “Deal. But I’m coming with you.”

There was absolutely no way Mitchell was letting the omega face this on his own.

tbc…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so short! Hope you enjoyed!


	13. Announcement

So I’m trying to sanitize my life a bit with the new year coming up and all. This is a very personal decision on my part and I don’t want to discuss it too much, but I wanted to let my readers know that this will be impacting my fics because one of the things I plan to do is to cut smut out of my life, which means no more in my fics.

My stories with smut in them will either have those portions removed or will be deleted altogether. I'm not sure this story can exist without explicit material. I'm going to try to take out the smut and see what's left, but I just wanted to give my readers a heads up. 

Sorry to disappoint. 


End file.
